The Duelist of Light
by TenakuMihara
Summary: Alex has always been fond of the 'Duel Monsters' card game. Now; he has to play it for much higher stakes than he ever thought possible. On Hiatus
1. Prologue: Watching

Prologue: Searching

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its aspects**

A figure stood looking out of a window. He was in an observation booth above the stands in a moderately sized auditorium. Throughout the floor of this auditorium, a large number of tables had been set up. Gathered around each of these tables were groups of children who seemed to be enjoying themselves. Upon a closer inspection, the children all seemed to be engaged in the same activity. That activity was a card game.

The card game was known as Duel Monsters. It was a strategy based trading card game that had captivated young children across the globe. It even had its own television series, as well as a few video games. However; it had all started with the card game. This auditorium was currently playing host to a local tournament. This tournament had been sponsored by the man who was watching from the skybox.

The man was dressed in a suit and had a clean cut appearance about him. His short silver hair was brushed back and his yellow eyes were covered by a smart looking pair of glasses. He was watching the children intently, although he did not seem to be focusing on any game in particular. He was interrupted when a younger man in a suit bolted into the skybox. He stopped for a moment, panting, and then walked up to the first figure.

"Mr. Telham," he began, "I was hoping I'd find you here. The board of directors is in an uproar. You were supposed to be there today for their meeting. They wanted you to see the demonstration for the next…"

The man was silenced when Mr. Telham held up his hand. "You can give the board my apologies, but there was something much more important to attend to."

"You may think that, but the board disagrees. What are you doing out here anyways?"

"I'm searching for something; something critically important."

The young man looks puzzled for a moment, but then a thought crossed his mind. "By important, do you mean it relates to the Elemental Guardians?"

"Indeed it does, so you'll have to come up with some excuse for the directors."

"Of course sir, but what could you possibly be looking for out here?"

"Why, the sixth and final Guardian of course."

"In this little out of the way town? Why do you think the Guardian would be here?"

"It's all thanks to instincts, my young friend. They guided me here, and I have been rewarded."

"You mean you found him?"

"Not just yet, but I'm very close. I can sense his energy amongst those here today. With any luck, that power will guide him to victory in this tournament, and prove him worthy of the task ahead."

"Is it really going to be that simple?"

"Unfortunately, nothing is ever quite that simple. Sadly, we don't have enough time for more rigorous testing. We must find him before they do."

"Ah, that reminds me of the other reason I wished to find you sir. However, I regret that I am not bringing much in the way of good news."

"Regardless of good or bad, if you came all the way here, it must be important. Now tell me; quickly."

"Of course sir. I was told to inform you that we located the Guardian of Earth, as you instructed us. Unfortunately, we were not able to reach her before they did."

"That is unfortunate indeed. What of the Earth Guardian on the other side?"

"I'm afraid we have lost that as well. They are now in possession of five of the guardians on both sides."

"Then we may begin to notice the effects soon. This means that the Guardian of Light remains our only hope. Fortunately, he is right in front of us today. What about the one from the other side."

"We have managed to keep that one safe. I imagine you'll want to give it to the Guardian once you pick him out from this crowd."

"Of course I shall. The Guardian can only function if both sides are present. If it had not been for hesitation on my part, we might have gotten the Earth Guardian as well."

"You mustn't blame yourself for that sir; such a mistake could have been made by anyone."

"Even so, I hold myself responsible. However; if I can convince the Guardian of Light to join us, then I can still set things right. Speaking of which, I would like you to bring it here."

"The other side's Guardian of Light?"

"Yes; as I said it must be united with our Guardian of Light as soon as possible in order for disaster to be averted. While you're at it, bring _that_. It would probably be a good idea to equip him with it at the same time."

"Yes sir, right away," said the young man before hurrying out of the skybox.

With that, mister Telham turned to observe the tournament once again. The number of children present was starting to diminish, since the tournament was nearing the end. While many children had remained to trade cards or play fun matches, the actual tournament had reached its final rounds. Four children remained; one of whom was the Guardian of Light.


	2. Dueling

Chapter 1: Dueling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its subsidiaries**

"Sorry Amanda, but that's game."

"Oh man, how did I not see that coming? I almost had you too."

At one of the tables in the auditorium, two children had just finished playing the second semi-final match. On one side was a young boy of about thirteen. He had blue eyes and short, flat brown hair. His opponent was a girl of the same age. Her hair was black, and reached just beyond her shoulders. Like the boy, her eyes were green. The girl, Amanda, had just lost the match to the boy.

Two other young children, both boys, had been observing the match between the two of them. Both of them had been standing beside the boy, and had been very excited to see him win. The one to the boy's left had short red hair and green eyes. The one to his right had blonde hair, also kept short, and hazel eyes. They both had deck boxes clipped to their belts, indicating that they had also participated in the tournament.

"Nice going Alex," said the blonde boy. "I knew you could beat her."

"Thanks Will," replied Alex, "but it was pretty touch and go for a while there."

Amanda glared at him. "At least I didn't lose out in the first round."

Will was silenced very quickly by her harsh statement. The brown haired boy began to chuckle, but was also silenced quickly by a glare from Amanda.

"It's not like you did any better Tom."

"Come on guys," cut in Alex, "let's not start this again. You played well Amanda; I just got lucky."

"Nah, that wasn't luck. You got some serious skill. I wouldn't be surprised if you won your next match and the whole tournament along with it."

"Thanks guys, it means a lot to have your support."

"It doesn't hurt that you're insanely talented."

"Come on guys, you're going to give me a swelled head."

Will interrupted their revelry; "Don't look now, but here comes your last opponent."

Will gestured at another young man walking towards their table. He looked to be about a year older than them. His most striking feature was his hair, which was a vivid shade of blue. The group wondered why anyone would want their hair to be that colour, but decided not to say anything about it. Amanda got up from her seat so the blue haired guy could sit opposite Alex. Alex offered his hand to his opponent, but he ignored it. Instead, he simply placed his deck on the table.

"Well; may the best man win."

"I plan to," was all his opponent said.

Alex placed his deck on the table and passed it over to the blue haired guy, who then passed his deck to Alex. Before the start of a duel, the players would shuffle each others decks. This was a precaution taken to avoid cheating and rigged hands. Once the shuffling was finished, the two of them returned their decks to each other.

Alex then pulled a quarter out of his pocket. During a duel, players took turns playing cards and making moves. The player who got to go first often had an advantage, so a coin flip was used to make sure both players had a fair chance at going first. The two of them agreed that heads would allow Alex to go first. Unfortunately the coin toss came up tails, allowing his opponent the first move.

Both players set their decks to their right hand sides, and drew their starting hands of five cards. A player could win a duel one of two ways; by reducing their opponents life points to zero, or causing them to run through all of the cards in their deck. Both players started off with four thousand life points and forty cards in their deck.

Since the blue haired guy was going first, he drew a card from his deck. A player's turn always began by drawing one card from their deck. They then took a moment to resolve any effects already in play before they could start playing their own cards. Since the duel had just started, there were no other cards in play, so the blue haired guy jumped straight into playing his cards.

"I'll start by playing one monster, face down in defense position, and setting one card face down on the field."

The Duel Monsters card game consisted of three types of cards; Monsters, Spells and Traps. Monster cards were the name sake of the game, and were the primary cards used for attacking and defending the player. Spell cards were used for giving the player an advantage by strengthening their own hands or monsters. Trap cards were typically used for creating disadvantages for your opponent.

The blue haired guy called an end to his turn, allowing Alex's turn to begin. He drew one card from his deck and added it to his hand. Alex looked over his hand, which currently consisted of three monsters, two spells, and a trap card. Since his opponent had placed both of his cards face down, Alex wasn't sure what to expect. He decided to play it safe for now.

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, which allows me to destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field."

Alex's opponent picked up his face down card, and placed the card face up above his deck. This zone was known as the graveyard, and was the place players sent their cards when they were destroyed or discarded. Alex was somewhat relieved to see that he had played his card properly. His opponents face down had been a trap that could have destroyed one of his monsters.

"Now I summon Jain; 'Lightsworn Paladin', in attack mode."

The 'Lightsworn Paladin' was a monster card with one thousand, eight hundred attack points and one thousand, two hundred defense points. The attack and defense points of a monster determined its strength in battle. A monster in attack mode applied its attack points while in attack mode, and its defense points while in defense mode. Monsters in attack mode could attack the opponent or their monsters, but a monster in defense mode normally took no damage. The monster depicted on Alex's card was a knight with ornate, shining white armour trimmed with gold. It had a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, both with the same design as its armour. Since Alex had not taken the first turn, he was allowed to attack first.

"Now, I'll attack your face down monster with 'Jain'."

"Unfortunately my face down monster is 'Aqua Mador', which has two thousand defense points. Your monster's attack isn't high enough."

"That's where you're wrong. When Jain attacks one of your monsters, he gains three hundred attack points, for a total of twenty-one hundred."

What Alex had just done was play the special effect of his monster. Most monsters didn't have special effects, and could only be used for attacking and defending. 'Aqua Mador' was one of these 'normal' monsters. However; some monsters had special effects that gave an advantage to the monster or its controller. Since 'Jain's' attack strength now exceeded the defense power of 'Aqua Mador', the latter was destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

"Now I'll set one card face down and end my turn. The other part of 'Jain's' effect causes me to send the top two cards from my deck to the graveyard."

"Fine, then it's my turn," said the blue haired guy as he drew his card. "Now I'll activate the spell card 'Shallow Grave'. This allows both players to summon a monster from their graveyard in face down defense position. However; you don't have any monsters there so it's of no use to you."

"Actually my 'Jain's' effect discarded one just now, so I'll set it in defense mode."

"Fine; and you know my revived monster is 'Aqua Mador'. It won't be around long though, since I'm sacrificing it to summon 'Giga Gagagigo', in attack mode."

The blue haired guy had just performed a tribute summon. Monsters came with various degrees of strength. This strength is measured by the number of level stars they have. Monsters with four stars or less can be summoned without cost. However; monsters with five or six stars require one tribute, while those with seven or more require two. 'Giga Gagagigo' depicted a gruesome looking reptile with metal parts attached to its skin. It had two thousand, four hundred and fifty attack points.

"Now I'll have my monster attack your Paladin."

When two monsters in attack mode battle each other, they compare their respective attack points. The weaker monster of the two is destroyed, and its controller takes damage to their life points equal to the difference in their attack strength. Since Alex couldn't stop the attack, his Paladin was destroyed. He lost six hundred and fifty life points, leaving him with thirty-three hundred and fifty.

"Now I'll set one more card face down and end my turn."

Alex began his turn by drawing another card. He smiled, since he might be able to win in this turn. "Now I'll flip up my face down monster."

Flipping a monster from face down defense position to face up attack position was called a 'flip summon'. Alex's face down monster was 'Ryko; Lightsworn Hunter'. The card depicted a small white dog wearing the same type of armour his Paladin had on. It had only two hundred attack points, but it also came with an effect that activated when it was flip summoned.

"Now my 'Ryko' lets me destroy one card on the field, so long as I discard the top three cards of my deck. I choose to destroy your 'Giga Gagagigo'."

The blue haired guy grumbled as he sent his monster to the graveyard. Alex picked up the top three cards and looked them over. He sent the first two to the graveyard, but held onto the third. It was 'Wulf; Lightsworn Beast'. It had twenty-one hundred attack points, and the special effect that it could be summoned to the field if it was sent from the deck to the graveyard.

The card's image depicted a muscular, humanoid wolf that was wearing the same type of armour as his other monsters. On one hand it had a set of golden claws and in the other it carried an axe. Alex summoned it in attack mode, causing his opponent to grimace.

"Now I'll activate my face down card; 'Glorious Illusion'. This allows me to summon one Lightsworn monster from my graveyard, so long as I discard two cards from my deck at the end of each turn. I choose to revive my Lightsworn Paladin. Since you have no monsters to defend you, and my monsters have a total of forty-one hundred attack points, I think I win."

"Not so fast; I activate the 'Negate Attack' trap card. This stops you from attacking me this turn."

"Fine, then I'll end my turn. I discard four cards from my deck to the graveyard."

"You almost had me there, but I'm going to stop being easy on you now. First I'll activate the spell card 'Monster Reborn'. This lets me summon one monster from my graveyard to the field. I choose my 'Giga Gagagigo'."

"I destroyed that once and I can do it again."

"Not this time. I activate the spell card 'Cost Down', which lowers the level of all monsters in my hand by two as soon as I discard one card. Now I can summon a level eight monster with just one tribute. I sacrifice my 'Giga Gagagigo' to summon 'Gogiga Gagagigo'!"

The blue haired guy sent his 'Cost Down' and another card from his hand to the graveyard. He then moved 'Giga Gagagigo' to the graveyard as well, before placing 'Gogiga Gagagigo' on the field. This card depicted a massive reptilian monster even more grotesque and mechanized than the first. It had a whopping two thousand, nine hundred and fifty attack points, as well as twenty-eight hundred defense points.

"Now I'll have my monster attack your 'Ryko'. The difference in their attack points is just about enough to wipe you out."

The blue haired guy was right, since Alex would be taking twenty-seven hundred and fifty damage from the attack, leaving him with only six hundred life points. He sighed as he moved Ryko to the graveyard. Since his opponent had no cards left to play, he drew and began his turn. He was very pleased with that draw, because it would definitely allow him to win in this turn.

"I'll activate my 'Monster Reborn' card, and use it to revive 'Ryko'."

"What do you plan to do with that puny thing?"

"This! I sacrifice him to summon my 'Gragonith; Lightsworn Dragon'."

Alex moved 'Ryko' back to the graveyard and placed his dragon on the field. The image depicted on the card didn't look as much like its namesake since instead of scales, much of its body was covered by feathers. It also had a long flowing yellow mane, more akin to that of a stallion. It was again wearing the same armour as all of Alex's Lightsworn monsters. It was a level six monster with two thousand attack points and sixteen hundred defense points.

"You need to check your math; that dragon's attack points aren't enough to stop my monster."

"Not at first no, but he has a special ability. For each different Lightsworn monster in my graveyard, he gains three hundred attack points." Alex then picked up his graveyard and looked through it. "Including the 'Ryko' I just tributed, I count four."

"How did you get those monsters in your graveyard? I only ever destroyed two."

"They all came from the cards discarded from my deck to the graveyard. With four monsters boosting him, my dragon's attack increases by twelve hundred to a total of thirty-two hundred. Once he gets rid of your monster, my other two can attack you directly for more than four thousand damage. Since you have no cards in your hand or field to defend you, I win."

The blue haired guy stared at Alex in disbelief. He was not pleased that the younger opponent had not only beaten him, but had done so within a single turn. Despite his annoyance, he decided to leave without making a scene. He gathered up his cards and returned them to his deck box. He then stood up from the table and walked away in silence.

Tom, Will and Amanda, who had remained silent during the duel, let out a cheer after the blue haired guy left.

"That was a great play Alex," remarked Tom. "It's almost like the Heart of the Cards guided you."

"Oh come on," retorted Amanda, "that's just a silly concept from the show. It's Alex's talent that won this tournament for him."

"I dunno; how else could he have managed to pull 'Monster Reborn' right when he did?"

"Dumb luck?" suggested Alex. "Either way, I'm glad I won."

"I'm glad for you too," cut in Will.

"Why, so you can ride on his successes like always?"

Will quickly silenced himself, but not before Alex started laughing. Soon all four of them were chuckling merrily about the whole thing. They were interrupted however; when someone else began to approach them. Most of the other children had gone home, but this person was not a child. The children had never seen mister Telham before, so they didn't know who he was.

Telham stopped when he reached the group of them. "Mr. Alex Yuswell, allow me to congratulate you on your victory in this tournament." He then offered Alex his hand.

"Um, thanks," replied Alex, taking his hand. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you?"

"Ah, forgive my rudeness. My name is Jonathan Telham, and I'm the one who organized this tournament. Now if you don't mind me asking, would you be able to come with me?"

**Author's Note: **Gasp; a Yugioh fanfiction with original characters? Not only that, but it actually focuses on the card game?! Surely this is madness! Maybe so, but this is how I wanted to tell the story. If you don't like it, don't read it anymore. Otherwise, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this story as it unfolds.


	3. Secrets

Chapter 2: Secrets

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, with the exception of a few trading cards.**

The children stared at Mr. Telham blankly for a few moments. He had seemingly come out of nowhere and asked Alex to come with him. Although he claimed to be the one hosting the tournament, the children had still never seen him before. However; Tom was the first to clue in. He had heard the name Telham before, and it had taken him a moment to remember.

"Wait; are you the same Mr. Jonathan Telham who owns the 'Monsters, Magic and Mazes' company?"

"I've been found out, have I?" replied Telham.

"What's 'Monsters, Magic and Mazes'?" asked Alex, confused as to what Tom was talking about."

"It's only the most successful gaming corporation on the planet! Don't you know anything? This man owns the company that created Duel Monsters!"

Upon hearing this, Alex, Amanda and Will seemed to stare at Telham with more awe than they had moments before. Telham's face reddened, as though he was embarrassed by what Tom had said. The children suddenly seemed much more interested in what he had to say.

"Not only did they create the Duel Monsters card game, but they're also responsible for the TV show, video games and all related merchandise."

"What would the owner of a multi-national corporation be doing in a little town like this?" inquired Amanda.

"Even though I'm its creator, I love Duel Monsters as much, and maybe even more than anyone else. I love seeing young people playing and enjoying the game I created, and it pleases me to no end to know that it has affected so many people."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here in particular," cut in Will.

"You're quite right. I came here seeking something special, something grand, and something new. I think that this young man," he gestured to Alex as he spoke, "may be just what I'm looking for."

Will and Tom's faces lit up with delight. "You know what this means right Alex?" badgered Tom.

"Not really; what?"

Will finished the though that they had shared, "Mr. Telham here is going to invite you into the professional Duel Monsters leagues!"

"Do you really think so?" stammered Alex.

"If so, then congrats in advance," stated Amanda, cuffing Alex on the back.

"So, are we right? Are you going to invite Alex into the pro league?"

"Well; since Mr. Yuswell here was the winner of this tournament, I would rather like to speak with him in private."

Amanda, Will and Tom looked extremely disappointed with this statement. If their friend really was going to become a professional, then they wanted to know about it. They were about to start vocalizing their complaints, but Alex looked to them and smiled. They stepped back and cleared their throats, as though they had done nothing.

"It's alright guys," said Alex. "I'll hear him out on what he wants to say first, before jumping to any conclusions. You go on ahead back to the clubhouse and I'll join you when we're finished. I'll be sure to tell you all about it."

Alex's friends looked disappointed about hearing this, but decided to say nothing. Instead, they turned away from the other two and started heading towards the auditorium's exit. Once they had left, Alex turned back to Mr. Telham and addressed him. He wanted to get his over and done with so he could rejoin his friends and tell them about it.

"So, what did you want to tell me about?"

"I said I would like you to come with me," replied Telham.

Mr. Telham turned away from Alex and gestured for him to follow. Alex was a bit wary, but decided to go along anyways. Telham led Alex up into the stands of the auditorium, and then back into the areas behind the stands. They followed a narrow hallway around for a short while, arriving at a door. Telham opened the door, which led into the skybox he had been observing from, and walked inside. Alex followed him inside, and shut the door behind him.

In the middle of the skybox was a table with two chairs. Telham walked to the end of the table opposite the door and seated himself. Alex followed suit, seating himself across from him. Telham placed his arms on the table and folded his hands in front of his face.

"Now then," he began, "what I'm about to talk to you about is definitely going to sound unbelievable, but I want you to keep listening until the end before you make any decisions."

"Um, alright," replied Alex, a little confused about Telham's manner of speech.

"First things first; I assume you watch the television series based on the Duel Monsters card game. Am I correct in presuming this?"

"Of course, I watch every week. I was really looking forward to this week's episode, since it would be the conclusion of last week's duel."

"Good; that might make things easier. Now, what if I told you the events depicted in that show weren't far from the truth? What if I told you that there actually was a world of great and powerful monsters that existed alongside this one."

"I'd think you were crazy or telling stories, but I did say I would hear you out."

"I assure you, I am not crazy. Long ago, the people of our world could contact, and even travel to the world of the monsters. They could also call those monsters here to do battle for them. Terrible wars were fought, and the constant interaction of the normally separate worlds caused them both to become unbalance and unstable. As a result of this, a group of powerful mages, and equally powerful monsters, sealed the two worlds away from each other."

"So, if the worlds were sealed away from each other, then what's the problem?" Although Alex's words went along with what Telham was talking about; his voice carried much skepticism.

"The seal between the worlds was placed in the hands of six humans in our world, and six monsters in theirs. Each of these 'Guardians' bore with them the essence of an element. Those elements were: 'Earth', 'Fire', 'Wind', 'Water', 'Light' and 'Darkness'. These elemental essences were passed down from one generation to the next, so that there would always be a set of 'Elemental Guardians' protecting the seal."

"You still didn't tell me what the problem was, since the worlds were still sealed away from each other."

"Have patience, I was just getting to that. After a few generations, the number of people who knew of the Monster World began to dwindle, eventually with just one group protecting the secret. That group was called 'Marokus Maculus Meteras', which means 'Balance Protection Society' when translated. Since the monster realm was all but forgotten, the subsequent generations of Elemental Guardians became unaware of their own significance."

"Did the forgetting of their roles somehow cause the balance to be lost?" Alex's skeptic tone had not changed in the slightest.

"No, they simply carried out their roles without knowing it. Unfortunately, the balance has recently been upset. Alone, the Guardians maintain balance, but when the Guardian's of both worlds are united, they can unleash extraordinary powers. One of the Guardians of this generation, the one of Darkness, learned of the ancient secrets. He gained contact with the monster that presided over Darkness and unleashed his own terrible powers."

"Lemme guess; now this guy is trying to destroy the world, right?"

"Not quite. He seeks to gain control of the other elemental Guardians so that he might disrupt the balance between our worlds. He will then use his powers along with those of the Monster World to take control of both. He has already gained control of four of the other Guardians, with just one remaining to oppose him."

"Oh, I think I know what you're getting at," said Alex, the skepticism leaving his voice. "You're testing out a new idea for the TV show aren't you? To be honest, I actually thought you were taking yourself seriously for a minute, but I guess that's part of the pitch. To be honest, I like it. Having a lone hero who has to save the world from darkness on his own is a great idea. Then again, he shouldn't be completely alone. Even if he's the only one with powers, he should still have some friends to back him up and support him."

"I am afraid you are incorrect Alex; I am not trying out new ideas for the TV show. I wished to convey the truth to you because I need your help. I believe that you are the Guardian of Light, the last defense against the Dark Guardian's evil plot. I held this tournament hoping to find you and I am most pleased that I did so before they did."

"You honestly expect me to believe that a children's card game is really based off of ancient magic and monsters? That may make for good fiction, but it doesn't go over so well in the real world."

"I was hoping you would be more thrilled than skeptic at the concept of being a world saving hero. Many children your age have such dreams of heroism."

"Yeah, but that's all they are; dreams. The reason why they're dreams is because they aren't real."

"It seems that I shall need more than just my word to convince you."

With that, Telham stood from the table and reached into his breast pocket. From there, he extracted a small, flat stone. The stone was perfectly flat, and had the image of a cross carved into the front. He showed the stone to Alex, who looked at it quizzically.

"In ancient times, there were many amulets and magic items such as this that were used to call upon powers and creatures from the other world. Our organization managed to gather most of them up, so we could hopefully prevent them from being used accidentally. Let me show you what it can do."

Telham reached into his pocket once again, this time producing a Duel Monsters card. The card he brought out was a monster known as 'Kuriboh'. The image on the card depicted little more than a brown ball of fur with green hands and feet sticking out. There was also a pair of green eyes showing through the fur. It was a relatively weak monster, with only three hundred attack points. It did have the special ability of stopping all damage from an attack by being discarded from the hand though.

Telham held the card next to the stone, which began to glow. The glow enveloped the card as well, the brilliance of it causing Alex to turn away momentarily. He looked back when the light faded, and was met with an interesting sight. The monster Kuriboh was now floating next to Mr. Telham, and looked extremely realistic. It looked to Alex and made a faint humming noise.

Alex watched the Kuriboh, which seemed to stare back at him. It let out another hum and drifted towards Alex. When it was hovering directly in front of him, it reached out one of its hands towards his chest. Alex nearly fell backwards in his chair in shock. He had actually felt Kuriboh touch him. The creature seemed concerned for Alex, and floated down next to him.

Alex observed Kuriboh for a moment longer, before standing and picking up the chair he had knocked over. As he rose, so did Kuriboh, letting out another hum. Alex raised his arm and reached towards the monster. He hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on top of Kuriboh. He had thought it might be a puppet, but its fur felt much softer than any fabric he knew about.

Alex stroked Kuriboh's fur a bit, eliciting another pleasant hum from it. He lowered his hand as he watched Mr. Telham approach. The man raised the stone again, which let out a softer glow than before. Kuriboh let out one last faint hum before disappearing completely. Telham then returned the card and stone to his pocket.

Alex was completely dumbfounded. "Th-that was real," he stammered.

"Yes, I know. I called him here from the realm of monsters to demonstrate my point," stated Telham. "I hope now you'll be a little more willing to listen to my story."

"I don't know; you might just be playing some kind of trick on me. Still; that was almost weird enough to be believable. Go ahead and finish your story."

"Thank you. Now, as I said, I believe that you are the Guardian of Light. Even without you, the Dark Guardian still has access to his own powers, as well as those of the other Guardians siding with him. He has managed to obtain all of the other Guardian Monsters as well, giving him a great deal of power to command. Fortunately, he has yet to obtain the Guardian Monster of Light, which I shall give to you, in hope that you will be able to stop him."

As if on cue, the door to the skybox opened again. The man who walked through the door was the same one who had been conversing with Telham before, although Alex didn't know that. The young man held a heavy briefcase in his arms, the contents of which were obviously of value. He walked over to Mr. Telham and stood next to him.

"I have brought the items you requested sir," he said happily. "I take it this young man is the Guardian of Light?"

"I believe he is, and you came just in time. You can leave the briefcase and its contents for now; the other item is of greater importance."

"Of course sir," he replied, setting the briefcase on the floor.

The young man then reached into his pocket, and produced a small metal box. He handed the box to Telham, who held it front of Alex. He opened the box by its top hatch, revealing that it contained a Duel Monsters Card. It was a card that Alex had never seen before. It depicted a great, silver dragon with a massive wingspan. Like Alex's 'Gragonith', this monster appeared to have feathers instead of scales. It has spikes protruding from the back of its head, and long, flowing whiskers. All four of its legs were tipped with three bright red claws.

"This is 'Judgment Dragon'," stated Telham. "It is the Guardian Monster of Light, and I believe it belongs with you. Even if you still don't believe me, consider it your prize for this tournament."

Alex took the card from its case and stared at it momentarily. It was quite powerful, boasting three thousand attack points. "I've never seen anything like this card before."

"That's because it is one of a kind. The Elemental Guardian Monsters are all unique, and I only produced one copy of each card. Although our society guards the secret of the Monster Realm, it has also been amongst our responsibilities to prepare for the return of its powers. There weren't any ancient prophecies or the like, but we felt it best to err on the side of caution."

"Thank you, this is an extraordinary gift. However, I have one question for you. If you were supposed to keep all this a secret, why did you create the game and everything else that went along with it?"

"That's actually a valid question. When I was first brought into the society, I was fairly young. I was enamored with the tales of monsters and magic, and was very pleased to be a part of it. In my spare time I would draw pictures of the monsters and the battles they waged. A few years afterwards I came up with the concept of a strategy battle game based on the fights of the ancient sorcerers and monsters."

"It really was a brilliant idea," remarked the young man. "The society's numbers were growing thinner with each passing generation, and we might have ceased to be before long. By creating the game and his company, Mr. Telham brought a lot of new people into our group, myself included, along with a portion of his company's revenue."

"Thank you James, but I could have told him that myself. Although some of the elders were against it, many younger members thought that it was a great idea. By concealing the truth in a blanket of fiction, we were able to bring new life into a dying society."

"So now what?" asked Alex. "What do you want me to do?"

Telham addressed James first. "Thank you for bringing these items to us, but could I ask you to step out for a while?"

"Of course sir," replied James, before quickly exiting the skybox.

"Now then, I imagine you're itching to try out that new card I gave you."

Alex rubbed the back of his head and chucked weakly. "I guess it was easy to tell, huh?"

"Don't worry, I was fully expecting it. Since that is the case, perhaps you would care to duel against me."

"I'm not sure if I'd be much of a challenge for the creator of the game."

"That remains to be seen."

**Author's Notes: **Tada, the real story begins now. How will Alex fare against Mr. Telham? Will he be able to defeat the game's creator? Also, will Telham be able to convince him that the monster realm is real, and to take up the fight against evil? Only time, and subsequent chapters, will tell.


	4. Trial

Chapter 3: Trial

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, be it the card game or the TV show**

Alex was curious about what kind of deck and strategies Telham would use. Since he was the creator of the game, he could have access to literally every card in the game. He might also have more cards like 'Judgment Dragon' that Alex had never seen before. Nonetheless, he was anxious to try out his new card. He pulled his deck from its box and gave it a quick look over. He removed a duplicate copy of 'Gragonith' and replaced it with 'Judgment Dragon'.

Alex seated himself back at the table, as did Mr. Telham. Alex put his deck back together and passed it to Telham, who in turn passed his deck to Alex. They began to shuffle each others cards, as was customary. Alex was tempted to peek at the bottom card of Telham's deck to get an idea of what he was planning, but decided to let it remain a surprise.

When the two had finished shuffling each other's decks, they returned them to their rightful owners. They then drew their starting hands of five cards. Looking over his hand, Alex was a little wary. He had only one monster, accompanied by three spells and a trap card. He hoped his first draw would amend that problem.

"Since I issued the challenge, I'll allow you to go first," stated Telham.

"Alright then," replied Alex as he drew his card. Unfortunately, it was another spell. "I'll start things off by playing 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin', in attack mode. Then I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

Alex then proceeded to apply 'Jain's' effect by discarding the top two cards of his deck. He checked the cards as he discarded them. One of the cards he had discarded was a monster, but since it wasn't 'Wulf', he couldn't immediately summon it. He then looked to Telham, who had already drawn his card.

Telham smirked at Alex, seemingly pleased with his draw. "This next move may come as a surprise for you, but I'm going to summon 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin."

Alex was indeed surprised that Telham had played the exact same card as he had. "I never would have guessed you used the Lightsworn Monsters as well."

"I thought it might surprise you. Now then; I'll have my Paladin attack yours. As you know, he gains three hundred attack points when attacking a monster, so he destroys your Paladin."

Alex moved his card to the graveyard, but was anything but disappointed. In fact, he felt somewhat honoured that the game's creator used the same set of monsters that he had come to love. Telham ended his turn by setting a card face down and discarding two cards for 'Jain's' effect. Alex drew to start his turn, and was pleased to see his luck had changed for the better. Even though he had lost three hundred life points, he felt he might be able to take control in this turn.

"I'll summon 'Garoth; Lightsworn Warrior', in attack mode."

Telham smiled as Alex placed his new monster on the field, as thought he knew something that Alex didn't. 'Garoth's' card depicted a very muscular man wearing similar armour to the 'Lightsworn Paladin'. Instead of wielding a sword, 'Garoth' held a large axe, the shaft of which required both hands to grip. This new monster boasted eighteen hundred and fifty attack points, just enough to beat Telham's Paladin.

"I'll set one more card face down and have my Warrior attack your Paladin. You lose your monster as well as fifty life points."

Telham again smiled as he sent his Paladin to the graveyard. Alex assumed he was smiling because fifty life points was a rather insignificant loss. He called an end to his turn, but did not discard any cards from his deck this time. 'Garoth's' effect only required him to discard from his deck if the effect of another 'Lightsworn' monster discarded cards first.

"Not a bad counter, but I'm afraid I'm going to top it," stated Telham as he drew. "I'll activate my 'Foolish Burial' Spell card, which let's me discard a monster from my deck to the graveyard. In this case, I'll choose my 'Wulf; Lightsworn Beast'. As you know, his effect let's me automatically summon him if he's discarded in this way."

Telham dropped his 'Foolish Burial' card into the graveyard and picked up his deck. He searched through it until he found a copy of 'Wulf'. He reshuffled his deck and placed his monster on the field in attack mode. He also set another monster card face down in defense mode.

"Now I'll have my 'Wulf' attack your 'Garoth', which will cost you another two hundred fifty life points."

Alex was surprised at Telham's playing. It seemed as though he knew all of Alex's moves ahead of time, and was already prepared to stop them. He sent his Warrior to the graveyard and recalculated his life points. With three thousand four hundred and fifty, he wasn't as bad off as he might have been. He knew that things could get a lot worse if he didn't get his act together though.

The next card Alex drew was 'Gragonith; Lightsworn Dragon. If Alex played his move right, he might be able to take the lead away from Telham.

"I'll start by activating 'Solar Recharge', which let's me draw two cards as soon as I discard one 'Lightsworn Monster'. After that, I discard two cards from the top of my deck."

Alex sent his 'Gragonith' and the spell card to the graveyard before drawing his two new cards. He then turned over cards from the top of his deck and was met with a pleasant surprise. The first card discarded was 'Wulf', which he immediately placed on the field in attack mode. The second card was 'Lightsworn Sabre', a card that increased the attack power of any 'Lightsworn' monster by seven hundred so long as it was on the field. The card's other ability allowed it to be equipped to a monster immediately if it was sent from the deck to the graveyard.

Alex equipped 'Lightsworn Sabre' to 'Wulf', raising it to two thousand, eight hundred attack points. One of the cards he had drawn was 'Ryko; Lightsworn Hunter', which he placed in face down defense position. He had also drawn the 'Realm of Light' spell card, which could increase the attack power of all 'Lightsworn' monsters on the field. He decided against playing it, since it would also strengthen Telham's monsters.

"Now I'll have my 'Wulf', attack yours, and thanks to my 'Sabre', I'm afraid I win this one."

Telham sent his 'Wulf to the graveyard and adjusted his life points. He had taken seven hundred damage, bringing him down to thirty-two hundred and fifty, and putting Alex in the lead. He ended his turn for the first time pleased with himself, allowing Telham to make his move. He drew his next card and continued smiling.

"That was a nice comeback, but I think it's time I raised the stakes a little."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean I wanted this to act as a trial for you, to make sure that you truly were the Guardian of Light."

"How exactly did you plan on going about that?"

"The Guardian of Light possesses the powers of 'Hope' and 'Purity'. I was hoping that a duel would be able to bring out those qualities in you. By watching you during the tournament, I built an exact replica of your deck, in hopes of bringing out your best with that challenge. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be enough."

"Then what are you going to do to make it more challenging."

"You shall see."

Alex watched as Telham reached into his pocket once more; the same pocket he had pulled the stone from earlier. This time he did not remove it from his pocket, but Alex saw it light up through his shirt. The light dimmed shortly afterwards, and Alex thought that nothing had happened. Then, after a few moments, the room began to fill with thick shadowy clouds. Alex could still see, but he felt a cold shiver down his spine.

"What did you do?" demanded Alex.

"As I told you, I raised the stakes. I have taken this game to the Realm of Darkness. Although we shall continue playing our game, the risks involved shall be much higher?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like; our life points are now tied to our own life energies. Even though you may not notice as we play, once you lose all your life points you lose your actual life as well. To lose this game is to perish."

"I never agreed to this!"

"As I said, I need to test you thoroughly. I felt that the best way to do so was to put you in a situation where you absolutely needed to win. Right now though, the only thing you have that I don't is 'Judgment Dragon'. If you want to beat me, you're going to have to play it. If you can successfully play him, then you are most certainly the Guardian of Light."

"This doesn't seem all that heroic."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, since it's my turn I shall flip up my face down monster; 'Ryko; Lightsworn Hunter'. His special effect allows me to destroy one card on the field after discarding three cards from my deck. I shall destroy your 'Wulf; Lightsworn Beast."

Alex cautiously moved his monster to the graveyard, but was relieved when nothing happened. He also had to discard his 'Lightsworn Sabre', since it had been equipped to 'Wulf'. He watched as Telham sent three cards from his deck to the graveyard. He then placed a spell card on the field.

"I activate 'Nobleman of Crossout'. This card allows me to remove one of your face down monsters from play, as well as any duplicate copies in your deck if it's a monster with a 'flip' effect."

Alex sighed, since Telham had probably known ahead of time that his monster was 'Ryko'. Alex moved his monster to the right of his graveyard, and did the same with the other copies of 'Ryko' in his deck. Since they had been 'removed from play', the monsters did not count as being in the graveyard, and could not be revived by conventional means.

Telham also attack Alex with 'Ryko', bringing him down to three thousand, two hundred and fifty life points, tying the score. Alex did not feel anything with the loss of life points, but was still wary of what he had been told by Telham. Telham ended his turn by placing a card face down, allowing Alex to go. The card he drew this time was his duplicate of 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin', which would be able to destroy Telham's 'Ryko' and take a chunk out of his life points.

"Now I'll summon another 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin', in attack mode. I'll have him attack your 'Lightsworn Hunter', which raises his attack points to twenty-one hundred."

"Not quite; I activate my trap card," stated Telham, turning over the card he had set face down. "It's called 'Lightsworn Barrier', and it lets me negate the attack on a 'Lightsworn' monster by discarding two cards from my deck."

Alex sneered as Telham discarded his two cards, causing his monster and life points to be spared. None of the cards Alex currently held would have been much use at this time, so he had to end his turn. As Telham drew his next card, a wicked smirk appeared on his face.

"I'll now sacrifice my 'Ryko' in order to summon 'Gragonith; Lightsworn Dragon'. I have six 'Lightsworn' monsters in my graveyard, bringing his attack points to three thousand, eight hundred."

"Where did all of those monsters come from?"

"Aside from the ones destroyed in battle, the rest were sent to the graveyard from my deck by the effects of other cards I played during this duel. Now, to make sure your face downs don't get in my way, I'll activate 'Heavy Storm', which destroys all spells and traps on the field. After that I'll have 'Gragonith' attack your Paladin, wiping out two thousand of your life points."

Alex sent his two face down cards to the graveyard while Telham discarded his 'Lightsworn Barrier'. He also sent his monster to the graveyard. He was becoming concerned, since he only had thirteen hundred and fifty life points left. If what Telham had said was true, then he might die if he lost the duel.

"This is where we shall see your true might."

"What do you mean? You just took out more than half my life points in one shot."

"I mean just what I said; this shall be the deciding moment of this trial. If you truly are the Guardian of Light, then your Guardian Monster will not allow you to lose. If you are what I believe you to be, then you will draw 'Judgment Dragon' right now. Let's see if I was correct about you."

Alex was concerned, and looked to his deck. For some reason, it appeared to have a soft white glow around it. Alex wasn't sure what it was, but the light seemed to have a calming effect on him. He somehow felt that he was going to be able to turn things around, despite his current disadvantage.

Alex closed his eyes and placed his hand on the top card of his deck. He slowly drew it and brought it up to eye level. When Alex opened his eyes, he was utterly stupefied. He was in fact holding 'Judgment Dragon' in his hand. Not only that, but he knew that he could use it to win the duel.

"Now I summon 'Judgment Dragon'!" called Alex as he played his card. "His special ability makes it so that I can only summon him from my hand if I have at least four different 'Lightsworn' monsters in my graveyard. Fortunately, that's the exact number that I have."

Telham couldn't help but smile as he watched Alex place the new monster on the field.

"Now I activate his other special effect by paying one thousand life points. Now; every other card on the field is destroyed. With your 'Gragonith' out of the way, I can attack your life points directly for three thousand damage."

Telham placed his monster in the graveyard and smiled at Alex. 'Judgment Dragon's' attack had brought him down to two hundred and fifty life points, although its cost had taken Alex down to three hundred and fifty. Telham fanned the cards in his hand together and placed them on top of his deck. In Duel Monsters, this gesture was a sign that the duelist had surrendered the duel willingly. Upon seeing this, Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

"Excellent work Alex," said Telham, giving his opponent a smattering of applause. "I just knew that you were the Guardian of Light. Now I must apologize for deceiving you."

"Deceiving me? You were trying to kill me!"

"Let me show you."

Alex watched as Telham reached into his breast pocket once again. He extracted the stone like before, as well as another card. This time it was a spell card called 'Shifting Shadows'. The stone glowed in response to the card once again, and the shadows immediately dispersed. Telham then returned the card and stone to his pocket.

"I used that spell card to produce the illusion of evil shadows. I felt I had to convince you that you were in real danger in order to bring out your true strength. Even if you had not been the Guardian of Light, and lost the duel, you would have suffered no harm."

"If you were creating illusions, then how do I know this whole thing wasn't a trick?"

"I imagine you felt it during that last turn, when you drew 'Judgment Dragon'. You somehow knew that you were going to draw it, and that you would be able to win."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Not only that, but the fact that you were able to draw him when you did is a sign of his connection to you. You are the Guardian of Light. Now I shall ask you properly; will you join us in our fight against the Dark Guardian?"

"I'm afraid I don't like the way you operate," stated Alex as he gathered his cards back into his deck box. "I'm going to have to decline your offer."

"Give it some time, and I'm sure you will see that it is the right path for you to follow."

Alex turned to leave the skybox. "Not likely."

"Before you leave, I would like you to take that briefcase and its contents with you. Something tells me you will need it soon."

Alex didn't say anything more as he made his way out. He did however; pick up the briefcase before exiting the room. After Alex left, James walked back into the room and stood beside Telham. He was pleased to see that Telham had a smile on his face.

"I take it that since you gave him the briefcase, that he is the Guardian of Light," he stated hopefully.

"Indeed he is," replied Telham. "He was even able to use 'Judgment Dragon' to completely reverse the tide of the duel. Unfortunately he presently seems reluctant to join up with us."

"Do you think he will change his mind, sir?"

"I believe he will. If he does not, then all is lost."

**Author's Notes: **Yay, Alex's Guardian Monster made its first duel appearance. As for whether or not he will join Telham; that remains to be seen. Thanks for reading.


	5. Surprises

Chapter 4: Surprises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Amanda, Will and Tom had done as Alex instructed, and returned to their usual gathering place. This hangout was a small, one room wooden house located in the park. Not many other people knew about this little shack, so they had made it their official hangout. They would often come there on their days off to play Duel Monsters, or just to goof off. Now the three of them patiently awaited Alex's return.

Inside the club house there was a square table with a chair on each side. Three of the chairs were occupied by Alex's friends, who were still waiting for him to come back from the auditorium. Tom and Will were presently engaged in a duel, while Amanda looked on lazily. The two boys were an even match for each other, but neither one of them had ever managed to beat either Alex or Amanda.

"Now I'll summon my 'Blade Knight' in attack mode!"

"I'll activate my 'Ring of Destruction' trap card. Now your monster is destroyed and we both take damage equal to his attack points."

"Why did you do that; it just ended the duel in a draw."

"It's better than me losing flat out."

Amanda let out a large, long yawn, evidently bored at the dueling between the other two. This was the third game in a row they had tied, but each time they decided to go again. Neither one of them seemed to be satisfied with not having beaten the other. Amanda turned away from them and watched the door of the clubhouse.

"I wonder when Alex is going to get back," she grumbled.

"Who knows?" replied Tom. "Maybe he's in the middle of discussing important business with Mr. Telham."

"Yeah, but what would a bazillionaire want with Alex?"

"Remember that he owns the entire Duel Monsters empire," stated Will. "If he's interested in Alex, then there's a chance he's going to invite him into the pro leagues."

"Would it really take this long just to hand out a simple invitation?"

"Maybe he had to register for it; y'know, give out some information and stuff."

"Still, I can't imagine it taking this long to finish something as simple as that."

Before the others managed to continue their speculation about Alex's current situation, they heard a knock at the clubhouse door. Amanda got up to answer it while Will and Tom put their cards away. When Amanda slid the door open she was met with Alex's face, although he seemed a bit less enthusiastic than he had been right after the tournament. He stepped inside and slid the door shut behind him. He quickly deposited the briefcase he was holding next to the door before turning back to the others.

"Hey guys," he said quickly while taking a seat at the table. Amanda sat back down across from him.

"Welcome back," greeted Tom. "Mind if we ask what took you so long?"

"Yeah, what gives?" added Will. "Did something big happen between you and Mr. Telham?"

"You could say that. He wanted to give me my prize for the tournament and then…"

Tom cut Alex off before he could finish his statement. "You got a prize?! Was it money? Or maybe it was a rare card!?"

"It was a card; one I'd never seen before."

"You gotta show it to us!"

"Sure; it's not like I was planning on keeping it a secret anyways."

Alex removed the deck box from his belt and placed it one the table. He popped it open and retrieved his deck and then started shifting through his cards. He came across 'Judgment Dragon' and placed in the center of the table, allowing the others a clear view of it. Alex's friends observed the card with curious interest, paying detailed attention to the strength and abilities it possessed. Tom and Will let out impressed whistles while Amanda just kept staring at it.

"Wow;" stated Will. "I thought that, between the four of us, we knew every card there was in this game. Who knew there were cards as powerful as this one that we'd never even heard of?"

"I was surprised myself," replied Alex. "According to Mr. Telham, this thing is one of a kind."

"One of a kind?!" exclaimed Tom. "Why would he give something that valuable to you? Not that you're a bad duelist, but in my experience rare and powerful cards like this one only go to the highest bidders."

"Maybe he couldn't find a buyer and wanted to give it to an up and comer," proposed Amanda. "Based on the effect of this thing, only someone who uses 'Lightsworn' cards can play it. I've never met anyone other than Alex that uses them."

"Personally, I think it was a bribe."

"What makes you say that?"

"Mr. Telham wanted me to join up with his team."

"You mean like a pro dueling team?! Well, out with it; what did you say?"

"It was something like that, but I told him no. To be honest, I didn't like his recruiting tactics."

"Why would you turn down a chance at the pro leagues over something like that?"

"Like I said, I didn't like his methods. I didn't think I could trust him and didn't really want anything more to do with him."

"If that's the case, how did you manage to get out of there still holding that card? If it was a bribe, then why would he let you keep it if you refused his offer?"

"He seemed to think that I would take him up on his offer at a later time. From what I could tell he figured my mind would change if I had some time to 'cool down'. I suppose he figured I would be back and that he could reclaim the card at that time if I was still saying no."

"So, are you going to go back?"

"I doubt it, except maybe to return that." Alex gestured to the briefcase as he spoke.

"What exactly is that thing?" asked Amanda.

"I'm not sure actually, I didn't open it. Mr. Telham told me it was a piece of equipment I would need if I decided to join up with him."

"Why don't we open it up now and see what it is? There won't be any harm in looking, right?"

"I suppose not, I just hope it's not booby trapped or something."

"If he wanted you to join him, why would he booby trap it?"

"I don't know; I suppose I'm just being paranoid."

After a bit more insistence from his friends, Alex sighed and decided to stop protesting and observe the contents of the briefcase. He placed 'Judgment Dragon' back in his deck box, which he then returned to his belt. He picked up the briefcase and laid it flat on the table. Alex's three friends stood up and gathered behind him as he moved to open the case. It was only secured by a pair of latches, which Alex quickly popped open. He then slowly and carefully tipped the top of the case back, and was met with a fairly remarkable sight.

Inside the case was a mechanical device with a strange shape. It was centered on a circular disk shaped object that bore five buttons attached to a small screen. The screen looked like that of a simple calculator, but currently had nothing displayed on it. Built into the disk were two deep slots, one parallel to the screen and the other perpendicular to it. Attached to the central disk was a blade shaped appendage with five impressed spaces along its length. All of the impressed spaces, as well as the two larger slots, seemed about the right size to hold Duel Monsters cards.

Alex picked the device up out of the case and turned it over to observe its underside. Underneath each of the engravings on the blade was a small slot facing inwards towards the disk. These slots again seemed about the right size to hold a Duel Monsters card. There was also a band on the underside that looked to fit around someone's wrist. Just above this band was a power switch currently set to 'off'.

Alex looked over the device once more and found a set of lights built into the front of the blade, just below the impressions. He also found that beneath the fifth slot on the blade was another hinged slot that could be folded outwards. Again, this slot seemed to be just the right size to hold a Duel Monsters card. Alex was very curious about this device, as he had seen one just like it before. However; the place he had seen this device was on the Duel Monsters television show.

Alex's friends had stepped back to let him observe the device, but now that he had finished they moved in closer. They looked upon the device in awe, as they too recognized it from the television series. They silently mouthed words of excitement and curiosity, wondering if this device truly was what it appeared to be.

"Is that what I think it is?" Tom finally blurted out.

"It really looks like it," replied Will, not waiting for Alex to respond.

"Do you think maybe they use these in the pro leagues?"

"Forget about leagues," cut in Amanda. "What I want to know is whether or not it actually works. I've seen replica 'Duel Disks' sold in toy stores, but this one looks way too sophisticated to be a toy."

A 'Duel Disk' was a device used by characters from the Duel Monsters television show. It was a portable dueling apparatus, which allowed them to play the card game anywhere at any time. It automatically kept track of the player's life points and had enough room in it for a full deck of cards, as well as a full playing field. In the show, these devices brought the game to life by creating very realistic holographic projections of the monsters and spells depicted on the cards.

Alex turned the Duel Disk over in his hands a few more times, suffering from as much surprise as his friends. He set it down for a moment to observe it, while instinctively reaching for his deck. He pulled out his cards and set them on the table again, but didn't make any further moves. His friends seemed disappointed that he hadn't tried to activate it yet.

"If you're not going to try it, then can I?" blurted Tom.

Amanda gave Tom a swift kick in the shin. "This is his Duel Disk, so he gets to use it. Besides, you'd probably break it."

"C'mon Alex," cut in Will. "Try it on at least."

After a bit more prodding from his hands, Alex finally agreed to put the Duel Disk on. He picked it up again and slipped it over his left arm. The strap seemed to adjust itself until it made a snug fit. Despite the snugness, it was in no way uncomfortable. As soon as he had donned the Duel Disk, he had felt a strange sensation run through his body. It felt like an electric shock, except that it was warm rather than painful.

Alex looked over the Duel Disk again now that he was wearing it. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction and smiled as he turned his arm to look at it more closely. Tom, Will and Amanda seemed to have similar sensations running through them, as they all bore broad grins as well. They walked up to him, determined to examine him and the disk from as many angles as possible.

"It looks great on you," remarked Tom.

"Yeah; it seems so… natural for you," added Will.

"Not bad Alex, but is it just for show?" asked Amanda.

"I suppose we'll have to find out."

Alex grabbed his deck with his right hand and shuffled out of the clubhouse. His friends followed him out, but they spread out to allow enough room for anything that might happen. Alex loaded his deck into the slot parallel to the screen, and then turned his arm over. He located the power switch he had seen before and flicked it to 'on'. As soon as he did, the Duel Disk hummed to life. The lights across the blade had dim, flashing lights coming from them. The screen also activated, displaying the starting number of four thousand, and also confirming that it was a life point counter.

Alex stood still for a moment, pleased at the sensation he got from turning on the Duel Disk. It was a bit thrilling, and at the same time compelling. He stood for a moment doing nothing, causing his friends to give him funny looks. They walked around behind him and had to poke him to snap him out of his daze.

"You actually gonna try that thing?" chided Amanda. "Or will you just stand there drooling over it?"

"Try summoning a monster!" called Tom.

Alex nodded to him and then picked up the top card of his deck. It was his 'Ryko; Lightsworn Hunter'. Since it was his smallest monster, Alex figured it would be a good one to use as a test subject. He placed the card onto grooves on the blade of the disk, where it stayed securely. As soon as it was played, the lights on the blade intensified. The air seemed to shimmer for a moment before a projection of the monster fizzled into existence.

When 'Ryko' had fully materialized, it seemed incredibly lifelike. The detail of his fur, armour and overall appearance were a sight to behold. The group stood still for a few moments, as though they though the hunting dog might actually be able to bite them. Alex picked the card up from the blade, at which point the image of it instantly vanished. He slipped the card back into his deck and turned to face his friends. For the most part, they were speechless.

"That was… incredible!" exclaimed Tom. "Not only did it project the monster, but it looked so realistic. I almost thought it was real for a moment."

When Tom said the word 'real', Alex's mind instantly recalled the sensation of touching the 'Kuriboh' Telham had summoned. He was tempted to summon the monster again and try touching it to see if it was the same. He was interrupted from these thoughts by further comments from his friends.

"You should see what happens if you play a Spell," remarked Will. "Then maybe a Trap card after that."

"That was pretty impressive," stated Amanda with a distinct hint of jealousy.

Alex was motivated by the words of his friend and reached for his deck again, planning to pull out a spell card. Before he could reach his deck, a shudder went down his spine. It felt like a cold breeze had just passed through. Alex somehow knew it wasn't a gust of wind, but wondered what it had been.

Alex was surprised by what he saw next, as it seemed much less realistic than even the monster projection. The world around him seemed to become blurry and unfocused, as though he was trying to watch something in fast motion. Although it took him a moment to realize it, Alex could also no longer hear his friends' voices. When he looked at them, they had stopped moving and had taken on the same blurred appearance as everything else around him.

Alex felt another chill run up his spine and immediately turned on the spot. He was met with the sight of a tall figure, covered head to toe in a black hooded robe. Alex was confused as to what was going on, but something told him the cloaked figure was responsible. He took a good long look at the figure and was surprised to see a device on his left arm similar to the 'Duel Disk' he was wearing.

"Who are you?!" demanded Alex.

"Forgive me for my abrupt appearance," replied the figure. His voice was deep, yet oddly smooth. "However; I thought that a private meeting with you would be more appropriate."

"What did you do?"

"I simply caused us to become a bit removed from the normal flow of space and time. I knew for sure that this would prevent distractions."

"What do you want with me?"

"That is simple, Guardian of Light… I came here for you."

**Author's Notes: **Three guesses who the robed figure is. I figure it's fairly obvious that he's a bad guy, and will be Alex's first 'real' opponent. Also for the first time next chapter: Duel Disk matches. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.


	6. Darkness

Chapter 5: Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh (although I was able to rack up a lot of my own Lightsworns at AN)**

Alex stared at the robed figure in disbelief. This person had called him the 'Guardian of Light', just like Mr. Telham had. Just looking at the cloaked man made Alex shudder, as though he felt chilled to the bone in his presence. Even so, Alex stepped towards him, albeit cautiously.

"You still haven't told me who you are," demanded Alex.

"Right you are Guardian of Light," replied the cloaked figure. "However; isn't it proper to give your own name before asking someone else's?"

"Fine then, I'm Alex," he spat. "Now; who are you? I'd also like to know how you knew about me."

"I do not wish to give you my name at this time, but I appreciate learning yours. I found you as soon as you donned your Duel Disk, which sent out a surge of energy when you activated it. As for who I am; I shall tell you that I am the 'Guardian of Darkness'."

Alex cringed when he heard the cloaked man give himself that title. It was involuntary, yet he knew exactly why he had reacted that way. According to Mr. Telham, the Dark Guardian had been seeking out the other Elemental Guardians in order to use their power to conquer the world. Mr. Telham had also thought Alex to be the Guardian of Light, although he had been skeptical. Even if Alex wasn't the Light Guardian, the encounter with this robed figure might be disastrous.

"Okay, so you're the Guardian of Darkness," stated Alex. "What do you want with me?"

"I do not know how much you know of your own significance," replied the Dark Guardian, "so perhaps you could inform me of that first. If you know nothing of this matter, then I shall be quite pleased to inform you."

"I was told that the Elemental Guardians protect the balance between this world and the one inhabited by monsters. I was also told that there were monster Guardians alongside the human ones, and that they had incredible powers when together."

"Interesting. Who told you all of this?"

"A man named Jonathan Telham."

"Hmm… I haven't heard that name in quite some time. I was hoping that I had found you before he did, but it seems that this is not the case. Tell me; did he tell you anything about me or the other Guardians?"

"He didn't tell me who you or any of them were. However; he told me that you were trying to use the power of the Monster World, as well as the other Guardians, to take over this world."

"I find it interesting that you believed all that right away."

"To be frank, I didn't believe any of it. Seeing you here now though is making me think he wasn't making things up."

"No, he was not making things up, but he was misinforming you. I do not seek conquest or destruction. I merely seek to reunite our separate worlds as they were in ancient times. As for the other Guardians; I simply convinced them to lend their powers to my cause."

"For some reason, I'm not inclined to trust you."

"I suppose that comes with the territory of being the Dark Guardian. Even so, I would ask you to lend your powers and services to my cause."

"What are you going to do if I refuse?"

"I would prefer that you didn't, as it would be much simpler for you to just comply with my little request."

"I think not."

"Very well, you leave me no choice. I had been hoping to avoid doing things the hard way this time, but it seems you aren't inclined to go along with it."

With that, the Dark Guardian raised his left arm, and his Duel Disk along with it. Unlike Alex's Duel Disk, which was silver in colour, his was a very deep black. The Dark Guardian's Duel Disk also seemed to emanate a dark aura, even though the lights on it were active. It was then obvious to Alex that he intended to duel him. Although he thought it seemed like an odd way to settle an argument, he decided to go along with it. Alex raised his Duel Disk as well, which was already active.

"I'd like to see what kind of cards you play with," remarked Alex. "So I'll let you go first."

"If you insist," stated the Dark Guardian as he drew his card. "I'll start things off by summoning 'Zure; Knight of Dark World."

As soon as the Dark Guardian placed his card on the Duel Disk, it began to flash. The monster he had played instantly materialized in front of him, again in drastically realistic detail. His 'Zure' looked like a fiendish knight whose head and body looked almost skeletal. It was clad in darkly tinted silver armour that bore many jagged spikes and crags. He also had a black cape and a sword in his hands, the blade of which was azure in colour.

"I'll now place two cards face down and end my turn." When he played the face down cards, the Duel Disk projected images of the cards onto the field, the backs of which were the only part visible.

Alex started his turn by drawing a card as usual. He only had one monster in his hand, and it wasn't strong enough to beat 'Zure'. He did however have a few spell cards and one trap, which might allow him to gain the upper hand.

"I'll start by activating the 'Solar Recharge' spell card. This lets me discard one Lightsworn monster from my hand in order to draw two cards. After that, I have to discard two cards from the top of my deck."

Alex placed his spell card in one of the slots on the underside of the Duel Disk's blade. An image of the card's face appeared in front of Alex, displaying the card to his opponent. It depicted a warrior that looked like 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin' being shone upon by an intense light. He discarded the monster in his hand, placing it in the slot on the disk perpendicular to his deck, and then drew two cards. He then sent the spell card itself to the graveyard, along with two cards from his deck.

"Now I'll summon 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin'."

Just like the Dark Guardian's 'Zure', Alex's monster materialized in between the two duelists. Although both monsters had eighteen hundred attack points, Alex's Paladin had the advantage of gaining an extra three hundred points when attacking an opponent's monster.

"Now I'll have my Lightsworn Paladin attack your Knight of Dark World with 'Shimmering Slash'!"

Alex's monster lunged at the Dark Guardian's, letting out a grunt as it did so. 'Zure' was impaled by 'Jain', and let out a shriek before dissolving into tiny fragments and disappearing. Alex had been surprised to hear sounds coming from the monsters. When his monster was destroyed, the Dark Guardian removed his monster from the Duel Disk's blade and placed it in his graveyard. His life point counter also dropped to three thousand, seven hundred.

"Now I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Alex sent two more cards from his deck to the graveyard for 'Jain's' effect.

"Very well, I shall draw. I'll start my turn by activating the permanent spell card; 'Mirage of Nightmare'."

The Dark Guardian placed his spell card in one of the slots on his blade as well, and then pressed the corresponding button on the disk to activate it. When his card was displayed to Alex, it depicted a frightened man being assaulted by three bandaged mummies.

"Now; during each of your turns I draw until my hand contains four cards. However; at the beginning of my turn, after I draw, I have to discard the same number of cards I drew on your turn. After that I shall place one monster face down in defense mode and end my turn."

When the monster was played in face down defense mode, a projection of the card's back aligned horizontally appeared, just like the face down cards that had been played. Alex drew his card, but the Dark Guardian drew one as well for the effect of his 'Mirage of Nightmare' spell.

"Now I'll summon 'Aurkus; Lightsworn Druid', in attack mode."

The monster that Alex summoned this time materialized next to 'Jain'. It was a man, but was this time clad in a long robe instead of armour. He wore large red pads on his shoulders which were emblazoned with the same crests that appeared on the armour of the other 'Lightsworn' monsters. He had white hair and carried a large tome in his right hand. He had twelve hundred attack points and eighteen hundred defense points.

"Since I don't know what you're up to, I thought I'd play it safe. With 'Aurkus' on the field; all of my Lightsworn Monsters are protected from your card effects. I'll also activate the field spell card 'Realm of Light'."

Alex inserted this spell card into the additional slot on the far left hand side of the Duel Disks blade. When it activated, two massive pillars appeared behind Alex, both seemingly made of pristine white stone. In between the two pillars was a large orb of bright white light.  
"With this card in play, all of my Lightsworn monsters get a power boost. Each time one of their effects sends cards from my deck to the graveyard, it adds one 'Shine Counter' to the field. Each of these counters gives one hundred extra points to my monsters. Now I'll have my 'Jain' attack your face down monster."

Alex's Paladin once again lunged at the Dark Guardian's monster. The Dark Guardian flipped the monster card face up on his Duel Disk, at which time it materialized on the field. This monster was similar to 'Zure', but was much more broadly built. He also had massive hands, the palms of which were bright orange. The monster clapped these massive hands together on top of 'Jain's' sword, halting his attack.

"I'm afraid you've come up just short this time, Guardian of Light. My 'Renge; Gatekeeper of Dark World' has twenty-one hundred defense points, which is enough to stop your Paladin from destroying him. Fortunately the extra three hundred points your monster gained kept you from taking damage."

"That won't happen next time. I'll end my turn, at which time I have to send four cards from my deck to the graveyard. Since two of my Lightsworns effects were activated, I now have two shine counters, giving them each two hundred more attack points."

"Very well, now it's my turn," stated the Dark Guardian, drawing his card. "Due to 'Mirage of Nightmare', I now have to discard a card from my hand. Unfortunately, it's 'Gren; Tactician of Dark World'. When he's sent form my hand to the graveyard, I get to destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field."

Alex watched as the Dark Guardian discarded the card from his hand. Then, the monster on the card appeared on Alex's side of the field. It was again similar in appearance to his other monsters, except that it wore no armour. Instead, it had a bright green cape. Gren picked up the projection of Alex's face down card, which was revealed to be 'Lightsworn Barrier'. It then tore the projected card apart and disappeared, at which time Alex removed the card from his Duel Disk and placed it in the graveyard.

"Now I'll activate the spell card 'Card Destruction'. This forces us both to discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards we discarded."

Alex and the Dark Guardian both sent their hands to the graveyard, and then drew new hands. As Alex looked on, the Dark Guardian drew one more card into his hand than he had previously held.

"Don't try to cheat me," called Alex, gesturing to the extra card.

"I'm afraid I've done no such thing. When 'Broww; Huntsman of Dark World' is discarded from my hand, I'm allowed to draw an extra card. There's also my 'Beiige; Vanguard of Dark World'."

Alex watched as the ground in front of the Dark Guardian seemed to open up with a fissure. Out of this fissure crawled a monster, clawing its way onto the field. This monster bore a great resemblance to 'Zure' in terms of stature, but carried a spear instead of a sword. It also had only sixteen hundred attack points.

"When he's sent to the graveyard from my hand, 'Beiige' is automatically summoned to my side of the field. Now I'll summon 'Brron; Mad King of Dark World'.

The Dark Guardian's new monster appeared on the field next to the two he had already summoned. This one had the same fiendish appearance as his other 'Dark World' Monsters, but also bore a hint of regality. He had a flowing bronze cape and copper chains wrapped around his arms. This new monster let out a cackle as it took to the field, where it was displayed that it possessed eighteen hundred attack points.

"Now I'll have my 'Brron' attack your 'Aurkus', which will destroy your monster and hit you with four hundred points of damage."

The image of 'Brron' walked forward slightly and then threw one of its arms forward. The chain around that arm lashed out and coiled around 'Aurkus' neck, and then drew him in closer to 'Brron'. The Dark World creature then flexed his free hand and drove his claws into the chest of the Lightsworn monster. The image of 'Aurkus' then disappeared and Alex's life point counter decreased to thirty-six hundred.

"With your Druid gone, your Lightsworn monsters are once again vulnerable to the effects of my cards. That's unfortunate, because my 'Brron' lets me discard a card from my hand when he damages your life points. Therefore, I shall discard 'Kahkki; Guerilla of Dark World'. When he's discarded from my hand, one of your monsters is destroyed automatically."

The Dark Guardian discarded his monster from his hand, at which time it also appeared on Alex's side of the field. This one was short with a very top heavy build, and again had the same necrotic appearance as the other Dark World monsters. It pulled out a small, khaki coloured dagger which it used to stab Alex's Paladin. After that, both monsters disappeared from the field.

"I'm afraid there's more. My Vanguard hasn't attacked yet this turn, so I'll have him go directly for your life points."

The Dark Guardian's monster lowered his spear and ran straight at Alex. It stopped a foot away from him and drove the spear into Alex's gut. His life points dropped down to two thousand, but that was the least of his problems. When the attack impacted him, Alex dropped his cards and clutched at his abdomen, grunting painfully. He had suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain, as though the attack had actually struck him.

"What the hell was that?!" gasped Alex, panting. He wasn't bleeding, but the pain still felt horrible.

The Dark Guardian chuckled at the sight of Alex. "It seems that this is your first experience playing the game for real. That's unfortunate for you, since you weren't ready for the pain involved. However; it will make accomplishing my objectives a lot easier."

Alex was shocked; this duel really was for real. He had no way of telling what would happen if he lost, and the pain in his gut was excruciating. However; a strange sense of calm overtook him. It felt similar to the end of his duel with Telham, right before he had drawn 'Judgment Dragon'. He bent down to gather up his hand and stood up straight once again. The Dark Guardian looked on, face hidden by his cloak. He set one more card on the field and ended his turn.

He drew from his deck, and once again found himself looking at his Guardian Monster. He had drawn Judgment Dragon, and couldn't help but smile. The Dark Guardian ignored this and drew three more of his own cards, in accordance with his 'Mirage of Nightmare' spell card.

"I'm afraid I'm about to turn things around. By sending 'Aurkus' and 'Jain' to the graveyard, you added two more Lightsworn Monsters to my graveyard. Their effects had already discarded two other Lightsworn monsters, giving me four. This will allow me to summon my Guardian Monster; 'Judgment Dragon'." Alex turned the card around to show his opponent.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to play that card, so I'll activate my 'Disappear' trap card." The Dark Guardian pressed one of the buttons on his Duel Disk, which caused his face down card to reveal itself. "This card let's me remove one monster in your graveyard from play, which will prevent you from summoning your Dragon."

Alex grunted and as he took his Paladin out of his graveyard, placing it back in his deck box. He then took a look at the other cards in his hand. He had 'Ryko; Lightsworn Hunter', the 'Mirror Force' trap card, and the 'Solar Recharge' spell. He set the trap card face down and placed 'Ryko' in face down defense position.

His 'Mirror Force' trap card would allow Alex to destroy the Dark Guardian's monsters if any of them attacked. He then planned to flip up 'Ryko' to get rid of the 'Mirage of Nightmare' card. Not only would this prevent his opponent from drawing so many extra cards, it would keep him from discarding them every turn. Since the Dark World monsters effects always seemed to activate when they were discarded, the loss of that spell would slow down the Dark Guardian enough for Alex to make a comeback.

"Before your turn ends I'll activate my two remaining face down cards. The first is 'The Forces of Darkness', which allows me to take two Dark World monsters from my graveyard back into my hand. I'll take my good friends 'Gren' and 'Kahkki'. My second card is 'Gateway to Dark World', which revives my 'Zure' in attack mode."

Alex said nothing to this and called an end to his turn. The Dark Guardian drew his card, and then discarded three more for the effect of 'Mirage of Nightmare'. Alex was horrified as he once again saw 'Gren' and 'Kahkki' appear on his side of the field. 'Gren' picked up his 'Mirror Force' card and tore it apart, while 'Kahkki' cut clean through 'Ryko' while it was face down, preventing it from being flipped up.

"I was actually expecting a lot more from you, Guardian of Light," stated the Dark Guardian. "Even so, I need your power, whether or not it is feeble compared to mine. This duel is over."

With that, both 'Zure' and 'Beiige' lunged at Alex, weapons thrust forward. 'Zure' went first; slashing his sword across Alex's left shoulder. Alex shuddered and let out a loud yelp, which was cut short by a grunt when 'Beiige's' lance pierced his leg. Alex dropped his cards again and fell to his knees. His life point counter dropped to zero, at which time all of the Dark Guardian's monsters, as well as the 'Realm of Light' pillars disappeared.

The Dark Guardian chuckled softly as a swirling black aura materialized around him. He extended a hand towards Alex, at which time the aura seeped off of him towards Alex. Just before this black aura could connect with Alex, his body became surrounded by a similar aura, except that it was pure white in colour. His aura served to dispel the dark one that was seeping towards him.

The Dark Guardian stepped back, seeming confused as to what had transpired. "Why did my conquest of his mind fail? It worked on all the other guardians, so why not him? I can only think Telham capable of something like this, since he knew I would be coming after the Guardian of Light. Perhaps it is time I paid the old man a visit."

After that, the Dark Guardian faded away into blackness, completely disappearing from sight. Alex's eyesight began to fade as he watched the robed figure depart. After his departure, the world seemed to return to normalcy again. Alex didn't manage to see this though, as his eyes shut and he fell to the ground, cards spilling out of his Duel Disk.

**Author's Notes: **Alex lost?! Inconceivable. He actually lost pretty badly, but at least the Dark Guardian didn't get what he wanted. Perhaps now Alex will reconsider Telham's offer. See you next time.


	7. Answers

Chapter 6: Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Alex's eyes opened slowly, straining from the light that now poured into them. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before realizing he was lying in a bed. Someone had obviously brought him inside, but he still found himself disoriented. He remembered being in a duel, at which time he instinctively winced and reached for his side. There was no pain there, but he fiercely remembered the intensity of that which had afflicted him earlier.

Alex removed his hand from his side and placed it back on the bed. He placed his other hand there as well and used them to push himself into a sitting position. He looked around the room he was currently situated in, and noticed first and foremost that the walls were covered in Duel Monsters paraphernalia. The room was also a mess, as there were clothes, cards and various other things strewn about the floor.

"Ah, the sleeping beauty awakens."

Alex looked towards the source of the voice and saw Will walking up to the bed. "Yo," he said. "Where am I right now?"

"We brought you to my house because it was closest," replied Will. "Fortunately my parents were out for this weekend, so we didn't have to worry about awkwardly trying to explain why you were unconscious."

"How long have I been out?"

"Since yesterday afternoon. If you're wondering what time it is now; it's about noon on Sunday. Now, would you mind telling us exactly why you went into a coma for the last twenty hours? We were really worried, and were about to call an ambulance for you."

"I'm not entirely sure of what happened either. Did you guys see anything strange before I passed out?"

"Well; after you took your monster off the Duel Disk you seemed to blank out for a few seconds. After that you fell flat on your face and dropped all your stuff. It was like your brain just shut down or something. It was really weird."

"You mean you didn't see the duel?"

"What duel?"

"Oh, I guess it must have been a dream." Alex gritted his teeth a bit. Apparently the Dark Guardian really had affected time and space while they were dueling. At least this meant he wouldn't have to give his friends any unnecessary explanations.

"Anyways, I called Amanda and Tom over, so they should be here in a few minutes. You wanna go see a doctor or anything?"

"No, I think I know what happened. Did you bring my cards and stuff?"

"Yeah, they're on the nightstand," replied Will, pointing to the desk next to the bed. Sitting atop the desk were Alex's Duel Disk and deck box. "So, what do you think happened?"

"Well; when I used the Duel Disk, I felt a bit of a jolt. I think it malfunctioned and zapped me unconscious. I'm gonna have to take it back to Mr. Telham."

"You sure you're up for that? You were out cold for almost a day."

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine now. I also have a few questions for him concerning his team."

"So you're reconsidering joining him?"

"Only if he decides to quit jerking me around. When you see Amanda and Tom, go with them to the clubhouse and wait for me. I'll be back in a couple hours."

"Alright, but I hope you know what you're getting into. If you feel anything again, make sure you go see a doctor."

"I will, and I'll be sure to make sure you guys know about it if I do."

After that, Alex swung his legs off the bed and planted them on the floor. He stood up, and saw that he was still dressed from the day before. He grabbed the Duel Disk and placed it back on his arm, while also clipping his deck box to his belt. He walked hurriedly out the door, passing Amanda and Tom on his way out. He had a lot of questions for Telham, and was determined to get some answers.

* * *

Alex arrived at the auditorium from the day before in about half an hour. He walked over to the small door off to the side of the main entrance. He tried the handle, and found that the door was unlocked. Upon opening the door, he saw that the arena's lights were all still on. He also saw that Telham was standing just inside the door, waiting for him. Telham turned away from Alex and began walking further into the arena. Alex followed after him, quickening his pace a little.

"I imagine you have some questions for me," said Telham, his back still turned.

"I would like to know exactly what you're playing at," barked Alex in response.

"I told you yesterday that I wished to recruit you to fight against the Dark Guardian and his followers. You're the only one who has the power to stop him."

"I take it you aren't aware of what happened yesterday then. If you were, then you might not be so sure of yourself."

"I am aware that you activated the Duel Disk, and that the Dark Guardian found you. I am pleased to see that you are alright, as you very well could have had your mind destroyed."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"I mean exactly what I said. The Dark Guardian possesses the power of corruption. He is capable of taking control of the minds of others, although he must first conquer them or have them submit willingly in order to accomplish this."

"So when he beat me in the duel; that dark light he called forth was trying to take over my mind?"

"Precisely. Fortunately, you are indeed the Guardian of Light. As such, you possess the power of purity, which negated his attempts to corrupt you. Unfortunately the other Guardians did not possess this power, and fell victim to his control. This is the reason why I needed you more now than ever."

Alex stopped for a moment to contemplate what Telham had told him. Everything that had transpired since he had won the tournament yesterday had been beyond strange. The real monsters, the stories of ancient battles and magic, the life threatening duel with the Dark Guardian and the magic light show. Alex was ready to believe that everything that had transpired was for real, and that he also had some part in it. However; because of his horrendous defeat at the hands of the Dark Guardian, he wasn't feeling very up to the task.

Alex looked around and noticed that Telham had brought him back to the same observation booth they had talked in the day before. Telham allowed Alex to enter first before closing and locking the door behind them. They again seated themselves across from each other at the small table and were silent for a few moments. Alex then removed the Duel Disk from his arm and placed it on the table.

Telham smiled at this gesture. "I imagine you wish to know a bit more about this device, yes? If I had to guess, I'd say you figured out how to use it from seeing a similar device used on the television show."

"That's right, but it's not the how that's bothering me. I'm a little more concerned with what exactly this thing is."

"It is exactly what it looks like; a Duel Disk. This device was actually the basis for the designs they used in the show. It's designed to emulate the duel field and accommodate all possible cards being played at once."

"That much was obvious, but I think you know what I'm actually getting at."

"Of course I do. This device is largely mechanical, but at the core is a summoning talisman similar to the one I showed you yesterday. The mechanical parts were designed to incorporate the more modern system of combat that is the Duel Monsters card game, while the talisman does use real magic."

"It felt pretty real alright."

"That's because it was very much real. The monsters summoned forth during the duel were the real thing, and of course had the corresponding physical presence. We installed a limiter device in the Duel Disk to prevent actual physical injuries, but the nervous system still reacts accordingly to the impacts. This will protect you from cuts and other wounds, but the physical strain of those wounds still exists."

"How did the Dark Guardian get his hands on the one he was using?"

"As I said before, the Dark Guardian became aware of his role and his powers. He found out about these things because he was previously a member of our secret society. It was only after he was inducted that he made the discovery, and unfortunately it corrupted him. When he left us, he stole all of the Duel Disks we had constructed at the time. We had only recently managed to finish constructing the one you currently hold."

"Why construct them in the first place though?"

"As a precautionary measure. I created the card renditions of the six Elemental Guardian Monsters for the same reason, so as to be prepared to fight back. I am displeased that they were taken to be used against us, but now you shall be able to take up the fight to stop all this."

"I'm not so sure about that. If you were aware of my duel yesterday, then you should know how badly the Dark Guardian thrashed me. I only managed to knick three hundred of his life points before he slaughtered me."

"That was indeed unfortunate. The Dark Guardian is a very skilled duelist, as I have faced him before. I tried to stop him from leaving our society by defeating him, and experienced first hand just how mercilessly he duels. As a matter of fact, the duel you played with him was, card for card, exactly the same as the duel I played against him at that time."

"Wait, so you tried to use Judgment Dragon before? You told me only the Elemental Guardians could use their respective Guardian Monsters."

"What I told you is true, and I likely wouldn't have been able to play Judgment Dragon anyways. Still, I felt I had to try, as it might have been the only way to stop him from deserting us and pursuing his drastic goal."

"Well then if you faced him yourself and lost, what chance do I have?"

"As I said, it was unfortunate that you were so terribly defeated. However; you were simply unprepared to face him. Given time and information, you would have been much better off against him."

"In that case, why don't you tell me what you know about him?"

"Very well. His real name is Michael, and he's sixteen years old. As you probably noticed, the cards he duels with are monsters from the 'Dark World'. This is a realm that exists between our world and that of the monsters. It came into being when the rift between the two worlds expanded, as a direct result of them being sealed away from each other."

"So this rift became a breeding ground for these dark monsters, right?"

"Indeed it did. The monsters there feed on death and destruction, and grow stronger as a result. Since Michael was the Guardian of Darkness, he had a stronger connection to that world than to the World of Monsters."

"If you knew these things were so nasty, how come you made them into cards?"

"I didn't, which is a source of some curiosity to me. I know that Michael was a fairly talented artist, and shared my passion for drawing pictures of the monsters and their battles. My current conclusion is that he created the cards himself to serve as a link to the Dark World. It is not impossible for this to be the case, as he had access to the printing resources of my company through the society."

"Still, I don't see how I'm going to defeat someone that resourceful and cunning by myself."

"Remember that your other power as the Guardian of Light is 'Hope'. This power is responsible for the seemingly impossible moves you pull off during your duels. To outsiders it may seem like luck, but it is actually your will influencing the duel's outcome. In time, you may learn to control it, and then you will be able to defeat Michael."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"This is part of the reason why you failed this time. You will eventually come to understand and accept your capabilities, which will allow you to overcome any obstacle."

"If you say so."

"As a matter of fact; I know so."

Before Alex could say anything else, he felt a chill run down his spine. It was similar to the feeling he had experienced when he had dueled Michael, but was not quite as potent. Telham seemed to notice as well, and stood up from the table. Alex stood up as well, and instinctively grabbed the Duel Disk. He slipped it back on to his arm as he turned to face the door.

As Telham and Alex watched, they could hear footsteps approaching the door. The footsteps stopped after coming closer, and remained silent for a few moments. However; whoever was outside the door began to pound on it furiously. The door was being dented clean through to the other side, and its hinges were being mangled. Eventually the door broke loose, and a massive figure stepped through it.

This figure was a seven foot tall wall of muscle. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but had a cloak draped across his shoulders similar to the one Michael had worn. The hood was pulled down and his face was visible, although it was expressionless. The man had a shaved head and green eyes, but they seemed to have a lack of focus about them. The large man looked to Telham and gestured at him.

"My master, the Guardian of Darkness, requests your presence old man. He would like to speak with you."

"I'm afraid I have nothing more to discuss with him. I'm afraid you'll have to tell him to settle for disappointment in this regard."

"I'm afraid that is unacceptable, my master demands your presence."

"What are you going to do if I refuse?"

Without saying anything, the large man charged at Telham, throwing his fist at him. With a surprising display of agility for someone his age, Telham side stepped the blow. In the same instant, he placed one hand on the larger man's forearm, while placing the other closer to his shoulder. This time displaying unbelievable strength, he lifted the larger man over his back and threw him downwards, slamming him through the table and utterly demolishing it.

Telham unhanded the man and stepped backwards. "I haven't done that in years," he commented. "Unfortunately, I'm not as young as I once was, and I think I put my back out this time."

Alex's jaw dropped as he stared at Telham. He had definitely not been expecting that from him. "What the?" was all he managed to say.

The muscular man was now getting to his feet. He shook his head roughly and looked back at Telham. "I'll admit; that was good old man. However; I don't think you'll be able to pull it off again."

"Neither do I, but I suppose I could try. How about we settle this in some other manner instead? I see that you are carrying a Duel Disk. My young friend here will duel you, which I'm sure is something that your master would not likely object to. If you can defeat him, then I shall come along quietly."

The large man chuckled cruelly. "That wimpy little runt? You'd be better off just coming along quietly. Still, it should be fun. You're on."

**Author's Notes: **Well; now we've got a little more information about things that are going on, although I think Alex's friends are a little too naive about his injuries. Will Alex be able to get his confidence back and beat the thug? Find out next time.


	8. Comeback

Chapter 7: Comeback

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Alex and Michael's large servant were led back onto the auditorium's main floor. Telham had stated that the observation booth would not be big enough for them to have their duel in. The tables and chairs from the day before had been removed, so there were no obstacles to interfere with the duel. Alex and the brute stood across from each other, separated by a fair distance. Alex retrieved his deck from the box on his belt, shuffled it, and placed it in his Duel Disk. He then flicked the switch on the bottom, bringing the device online.

Across the floor, the brute also shuffled his deck and placed it in his Duel Disk. His Duel Disk flared to life and shortly afterwards and he drew his first hand of five cards. Without waiting to ask Alex, he drew a card and began his turn. Alex couldn't be bothered to object, and decided to watch his opponent's first move.

"I'll begin with the permanent spell card; 'Heart of the Underdog'. While this card is in play, I can draw an extra card at the beginning of my turn if I draw a normal monster and show it to you. I'll also summon 'Gene-Warped Warwolf' in attack mode."

The brute's monster materialized on the field shortly. It was a towering beast, much like the brute himself. It resembled a white wolf standing on its hind legs, but also had four arms. Each of these arms ended in a black fist tipped with red claws. There were blue markings along much of its fur, and it let out a ferocious howl. It was a level four normal monster with a whopping two thousand attack points.

Alex drew his card and began his turn, although he was somewhat doubtful. The only level four monster he had that could beat that thing was 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin', who was currently not in his hand. He did however have 'Jenis; Lightsworn Mender'. Although she only had three hundred attack points, her defense points were twenty-one hundred, enough to stop his opponent's attack. He also had 'Wulf' in his hand, which was a level four monster, but his effect stopped him from being summoned normally.

"I'll set one monster in face down defense position and set one card face down. That will do for now."

The image of the back of a card appeared on the field in front of Alex, aligned horizontally. Another vertically aligned card showed up directly beneath it. The brute drew another card and smiled. He showed it to Alex, revealing it to be 'Archfiend Soldier', a normal monster. He drew another card and added it to his hand.

"I figured you'd do something like that; little cowards like you always hide behind defenses. Now I'll activate another permanent spell card; 'Two Man Cell Battle'. As long as this card is in play, I can summon another level four or lower normal monster at the end of my turn."

The card appeared on the field next to his first one. 'Heart of the Underdog' depicted a young man wearing a long coat, which was being blown upon by a fierce wind. His new card, 'Two Man Cell Battle' depicted two creatures that Alex knew to be normal monsters attacking each other. The brute also set one card face down on the field.

"Now I'll summon my 'Archfiend Soldier', in attack mode."

'Archfiend Soldier' materialized on the field and walked up next to the brute's other monster. This new monster was a purple skinned ghoul wearing spiky armour. It had a long, tattered green cape drifting down from his shoulders. From underneath its cape, the 'Archfiend Soldier' drew out a long, jagged sword. This monster was also quite strong, with nineteen hundred attack points.

"Now I'll have my 'Warwolf' attack your defending monster."

The deformed wolf charged towards Alex, baring all four sets of claws. Alex's monster materialized in front of it, but Alex said nothing. 'Jenis' wore a flowing white robe with the Lightsworn crest on the breast. She also had a tall hat that symbolized her clerical position. She held a short, white staff that had a small green orb on the tip in the path of the oncoming attack. The staff seemed to create an invisible barrier that 'Warwolf' bounced off of. At the same time, his life point counter dropped to thirty-nine hundred.

The brute grunted at Alex's defense. "You got lucky you little twerp, but you'll be sorry once my monsters have at your life points. Before I end my turn I'll summon another 'Archfiend Soldier'."

The brute's second 'Archfiend Soldier' appeared on the field on the other side of his 'Warwolf'. Alex was now staring down three powerful monsters with just 'Jenis' protecting him. If he didn't start fighting back soon, then his opponent would summon something strong enough to beat her and walk all over him. When he drew his card, a small smile appeared on his face.

"I activate my 'Solar Recharge' spell card."

Alex discarded the 'Wulf' in his hand and drew two new cards. He had drawn 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin' and 'Lightsworn Sabre'. He then discarded two cards from the top of his deck to the graveyard. One of the discarded cards was 'Gragonith; Lightsworn Dragon'. Since his face down card was 'Glorious Illusion', he could bring Gragonith back to stage the counter attack he needed.

"First the effect of my 'Lightsworn Mender' activates. Since I sent cards from my deck to the graveyard, she drains five hundred life points from you and gives them to me."

'Jenis' waved her staff at the brute, causing a stream of soft blue light to shoot out of his Duel Disk. This stream of light then flew towards Alex's Duel Disk, and disappeared into it. Alex's life points increased to forty-five hundred while the brute's decreased to thirty-four hundred. Alex hoped it would be enough of an advantage in case something backfired.

"Now I'll summon 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin', in attack mode. I'll then equip him with 'Lightsworn Sabre', which gives him seven hundred more attack points. I'll also activate my 'Glorious Illusion' trap card. This let's me bring 'Gragonith; Lightsworn Dragon' back from the graveyard."

Alex's Paladin materialized and stood next to 'Jenis'. Shortly after that, his regular sword disappeared and was replaced by the 'Lightsworn Sabre'. This new sword was a long, thin rapier with a blade that glowed with a soft blue light. Then, in a blaze of light, 'Gragonith' emerged onto the field. He was rather large and dwarfed every other monster on the field. He let out a roar and stared at the brute. 'Jain's' attack power currently stood at twenty-five hundred, and 'Gragonith's' was twenty-three hundred.

"Now I'll have 'Jain' attack your 'Warwolf' while 'Gragonith' attacks one of your 'Archfiend Soldiers'. Go; 'Shimmering Slash' and 'Valiant Flare'."

'Jain' thrust his new sword into the air before leaping at the 'Warwolf'. At the same time, 'Gragonith' reared up and bellowed, before spewing a stream of white coloured flames from his mouth. Before the attack could connect however; a reflective, translucent surface appeared in the monsters' paths. The attacks struck the barrier and rebounded, destroying both of the attacking monsters.

Alex was completely dumbfounded. "What just happened?!"

The brute chuckled coldly at him. "If that's the best you can do, then you're in for a rude awakening. My 'Justi-Break' trap card activated when you attacked one of my normal monsters. It stopped your attacks and destroyed the monsters that launched them. Now, since you're out of moves, it's my turn. I'll summon another 'Warwolf' to keep the first one company. However, I still can't pierce your 'Jenis', so I'll end my turn. Not without setting another face down card and summoning a third 'Warwolf' though."

The two other 'Warwolves' now joined the first one on the field, along with the two 'Archfiend Soldiers'. Alex's opponent had managed to summon five monsters with a total of nine thousand eight hundred attack points between them. The only thing standing between them and Alex was 'Jenis' who was setting the defensive threshold by a mere one hundred points.

Telham decided to call out to Alex. "Remember Alex, all of his monsters are normal types. Since they don't have their own effects, they need the spell and trap cards to protect them."

Telham's words reached Alex just as he was drawing his card. The card he had drawn was surprising, as it related to what Telham had just told him. "I activate my 'Heavy Storm' spell card, which destroys all spell and trap cards on the field."

The image of the 'Heavy Storm' card appeared on the field, depicting a man along with large chunks of debris caught up in a typhoon. Out of the card's image, a massive column of wind emerged. The wind blew across the field and struck the brute's spell cards, shattering them. The same thing happened to the face down card he had set, which was revealed to be another 'Justi-Break'.

"Now I'll offer my 'Lightsworn Healer' as tribute, so that I can summon 'Celestia; Lightsworn Angel'."

'Jenis' dissolved into small particles of light which faded away shortly afterwards. In her place, another monster materialized. This new monster had very long, blue hair and a white aura around her body. She wore a tiara emblazoned with feathered wings, and had two great white wings of her own sprouting from her back. On her chest was an armour plate similar to 'Jain's', emblazoned with the Lightsworn crest. Held in her hands was a long spear, with a bright yellow jewel that had several emerald amulets attached to it connecting the blade to the shaft.

For the first time in the duel, the brute seemed intimidated. "What exactly is that thing?"

"This is 'Celestia', one of the more powerful Lightsworn Monsters. As long as the monster I tributed to bring her out was a Lightsworn, I can activate her effect. By discarding four cards from my deck, I can destroy up to two cards you control. This means you can say goodbye to two of your 'Warwolves'."

Alex discarded four cards from his deck and watched as Celestia drifted forwards. She held out her spear, the amulets on which rattled softly. The jewel lit up with a bright green light, which shot out of the spear towards the brute. The stream of light branched into two beams, each of which struck one of the 'Warwolves', destroying them both. Celestia then turned and looked to the brute's remaining monsters. She had twenty-three hundred attack points, besting all three of them.

"Now I'll have my 'Lightsworn Angel' attack one of your 'Archfiend Soldiers'. Go; Celestial Spear!"

At Alex's words, 'Celestia' dove at the 'Archfiend Soldier' to the brute's right. The monster held out its sword, as though it was trying to stop her. 'Celestia' broke the creature's sword with her spear before impaling it with the pointed blade on the tip, above the jewel. Since the difference in their attack points was four hundred, the brute's life points dropped to three thousand. 'Celestia' then flew back to Alex and floated next to him.

"You're gonna pay for that you little punk," said the brute as he drew his card. He smirked at Alex when he looked at it. "Told you so, because now I sacrifice my two remaining monsters in order to summon 'Tri-Horned Dragon'!"

The remaining 'Warwolf' and 'Archfiend Soldier' on the brute's field dissolved in the same way Alex's 'Lightsworn Mender' had. Taking their place was a massive dragon. Its scales were a very dark blue with red plates across its chest and at the base of its tail. At then end of each arm and leg were three long, sharp looking golden claws. Sprouting from the top of the dragon's elongated head was a massive horn, with two more spikes branching off of it. There was also another set of spikes just behind the Dragon's jaw.

The 'Tri-Horned Dragon' was as large as 'Gragonith' had been, but was presently much more powerful. It boasted two thousand, eight hundred and fifty attack points, more than enough to take out 'Celestia'. The dragon stepped towards Alex and let out a bellowing howl. Alex winced away from the dragon, as he could feel its breath from the roar.

"I'll also activate the spell card 'Double Attack'. By discarding the last monster card in my hand, my dragon is allowed to attack twice this turn. Now my beast, incinerate the twerp's angel and then the twerp himself!"

The 'Tri-Horned Dragon' let out another fierce roar, after which black flames licked around its mouth. It opened its mouth wide and spewed forth a massive stream of black fire. The stream of flames engulfed 'Celestia', causing her to yell out before being destroyed. The stream of flames didn't stop there, and continued on towards Alex.

Alex raised his arms in front of him, hoping to shield himself from the attack. His attempt was ultimately unsuccessful as the tide of flames washed over him. Although he remembered Telham telling him about the safety limiters, he couldn't help but scream as he felt the intense heat of the flames burn into every inch of his body. When the attack finally ceased, Alex fell onto his back, drained by the force of the attack. His life point counter also dropped to eleven hundred, indicating he had taken a total of three thousand, four hundred damage from that pair of attacks.

Alex barely managed to maintain his consciousness. He knew that if he passed out now, he would lose the duel. If that happened, then the brute would take Telham to Michael and he would lose the only source of information he had. Not to mention the fact that he would never be able to prepare himself to face Michael on his own, especially if he got beaten by this grunt.

The brute chuckled at him cruelly. "Had enough yet, whelp? I don't blame you, since you seemed like a lightweight to begin with. I'll end my turn with one face down card. Since I feel bad for you, I'll tell you what it is. It's a trap card called 'Birthright', which lets me bring back a normal monster from the graveyard. That means even if you somehow manage to beat my dragon, it'll come back right away."

Telham called out to Alex as well. "You can still win this, Guardian of Light. You know what you need to do, now do it!"

Both of their words reached Alex's ears, registering in his mind. He weighed his options and decided to listen to Telham. He never liked giving up, and he wasn't about to start now. He pushed himself into a sitting position, grabbing the cards that had fallen from his hand. He wobbled a bit as he stood, still shaken from the last attack. As he reached for his deck to draw, he felt a now familiar sensation. He knew he was about to win the duel.

"My move," he called, pulling the card from his deck. "Now I'll summon 'Judgment Dragon'!"

Alex placed his card onto the Duel Disk, which then erupted with bright light. When the light faded, 'Judgment Dragon' now stood behind Alex, towering over him. 'Tri-Horned Dragon' paled in size compared to 'Judgment Dragon', which could barely fit inside the already sizeable auditorium. The brute looked up at Alex's new monster in fright.

"How did you summon a creature that powerful without doing anything?!"

"Simple," replied Alex, gesturing at his dragon. Floating next to 'Judgment Dragon's' head were translucent images of all the Lightsworn monsters Alex had lost in this Duel. "My Dragon gains his power from the lingering wills of my fallen Lightsworn monsters. I can summon him automatically so long as I have four or more of them in the graveyard."

"Even so, you won't be able to wipe me out that easily. Even if he attacks my dragon, the damage will be minimal and I can bring him back."

"I'm afraid not, because I activate 'Judgment Dragon's' special ability. By paying one thousand life points, every other card on the field is destroyed. After that, you're wide open for a direct attack."

Alex's life point counter dropped to one hundred and a stream of light shot from his Duel Disk at 'Judgment Dragon'. The light served to charge up his dragon's power, as he because surrounded by a bright white aura. Alex's dragon let out a fierce roar, at which time the 'Tri-Horned Dragon' and the brute's face down card both shattered. The brute himself winced away from the force of the shockwave.

After its roar, 'Judgment Dragon's' mouth filled with white flames akin to those launched by 'Gragonith' earlier. With another roar, the dragon fired a burst of energy at the brute, impacting him fiercely. Not only did his life points drop to zero from the attack, but he was also thrown clear across the auditorium. He collided with the large door at the far end, leaving a rather large dent there when he fell to the floor.

After 'Judgment Dragon' faded away, both Alex and Telham ran over to the brute's side. He was twitching slightly, indicating that he has survived the impact. His eyes opened and he reached a hand up to his forehead, groaning painfully. He shook his head and then looked from Alex to Telham.

"Where am I?" he asked. "And who are you two?"

Alex seemed confused, so Telham spoke up to explain things. "Alex, this man is Robert Neshka, a professional duelist. He went missing a few months ago, and I suspected this was the reason why."

"So; he was under Michael's mind control?"

"That is correct. However; it seems that your power coupled with that of 'Judgment Dragon' has removed the Dark Guardian's control."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Robert, still quite dazed.

"It's nothing of importance really. Now, I'm going to call for a limo to escort you back to the hotel in the neighboring city."

Telham helped Robert to his feet and walked him out of the auditorium. Alex sat on the floor and waited for him to finish. Telham returned shortly afterwards, carrying the Duel Disk Robert had been wearing. Alex stood up again, stretching as he did so. Telham looked at him and spoke determinedly.

"I hope now you have some realization of what you're capable of, and also of the stakes riding on your success."

"Yes, I do, but I've got a lot to live up to. The guys on the TV show made saving the world look easy."

Telham chuckled a bit. "Fortunately, I'm more than willing to help you with that. Should you need them; the resources of our society as well as my company are at your disposal."

"That's good to know."

"Also, I have a word of caution for you. Be careful what you tell your friends. If they get tangled up in this mess, bad things might happen to them. As such, it might be better to keep them out of the loop."

"It's just as well; they think I'm here to become a professional duelist."

Telham chuckled again at this remark. "I would also like to thank you for defeating Robert. Not only did you free his mind, but I managed to reclaim this Duel Disk from him. I'll see that it gets put to good use."

**Author's Notes: **Yay, Alex managed to win against the brainwashed grunt. The worst is yet to come, so hopefully he'll be prepared for it. At least he has a multinational corporation backing him. Also, don't worry about things getting stale. Alex won't always be using JD as his last turn ass-pull, it just fit perfectly into this duel. Keep reading =D


	9. Celebrations

Chapter 8: Celebrations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Three days had passed since Alex faced off against Michael's mind controlled brute. Fortunately, those three days had passed completely without incident. Two days earlier, Mr. Telham had left town to return to his business. Before leaving though, he had given Alex two things of great importance. The first was a cell phone for the purpose of keeping in touch with him; mostly to keep him informed of any developments in the movements of Michael's group. The second was an account number that would grant Alex access to a set of funds, just in case he needed any new cards to help in his fight.

It was now Wednesday afternoon, and Alex and his friends were nearing the end of their school day. The three o'clock bell had just rang, and Alex's group of friends was making their way to their set of lockers. They had decided to pick lockers close to each other so that they could hang out together after class and talk about what they had done that day. Just as they were reaching the locker room near the school's entrance, Alex felt something in his pocket vibrating. He plucked out the phone Telham had given him, and flipped it open to answer the call.

"Hello there," he said. "This is Alex."

"Greetings Alex," came the voice of Mr. Telham on the other end. "I hope this isn't a bad time."

"Actually your timing is pretty good; we just finished school for the day."

"That's good to know, but my reason for calling is somewhat grave. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that things are getting worse. Since Michael has the other four Elemental Guardians under his control, the balance of this world is beginning to shift. There have only been a few instances so far, but they have been drastic. Over the past few days, several natural disasters have struck places that aren't normally susceptible to them. Not only that, but they carried an unnatural intensity to them."

"I think I heard about one of those on the news; an earthquake I believe."

"As bad as this is going to sound, these disasters are the least of our worries. If Michael manages to break down the barrier between the two worlds, then there's no way of telling how bad things will get. Countless people could get hurt or killed. Michael still needs your power to finish this task, which is why you should be particularly careful."

"Thanks for the heads up; anything else you wanna talk about?"

"Actually I was wondering if you'd taken up my offer to fund your deck enhancement."

"I appreciate that it was a generous offer Mr. Telham, but I felt uneasy about using it. I felt like I would be taking advantage of you."

"You have a lot bigger things to be worried about Alex. You should take any advantage you can get, including some rare cards if you can get them."

"Well; my friends have been bugging to go out to our local card shop for a while. Perhaps we could swing by this afternoon."

"Yes, that should serve you well. The last thing I wanted to say is that I think you should carry your Duel Disk with you at all times. It's the only defense you have against Michael and his servants, and I doubt they'd be accommodating if you had forgotten it."

"Alright then, thanks for the tip. Keep me posted on any new developments."

Alex hung up the phone and found his friends staring at him. He felt somewhat awkward, as he had just spent the past few minutes ignoring them. Not only that, but they might have gotten wind of what he was talking about with Telham. He rubbed the back of his head and went a little red in the face.

"So…" began Will, "when did you get a cell phone?"

Alex was caught off guard, not expecting that to be the question asked. "I got it from Mr. Telham on Sunday. He wanted to keep in touch with me."

"Does that mean you decided to join his team after all?" asked Tom.

"Yeah; he apologized for his behaviour and got his act together. He also fixed the Duel Disk so I wouldn't have to worry about getting knocked out again."

"That's all well and good," stated Amanda. "However; would you mind telling us why you didn't mention any of this before?"

"Oh, I guess I've just been too busy."

"That's no good; you're excuses are terrible. Even so, it doesn't matter. We need to celebrate your graduation into the pro leagues."

"As I recall, you told that guy on the phone that we'd been bugging to go to the card store. What better way to celebrate than by picking up some new cards?"

"I suppose so, but it's really not that big a deal."

"Of course it is, now let's get going."

Alex nodded to his friends and popped open his locker. He hung his knapsack there on a hook and then reached towards the locker's bottom. There, he grabbed his Duel Disk, which he had been storing there every morning before class. He attached it to his arm and then re-shut his locker. After depositing their things, Alex's friends joined him and they left the school, heading towards their local card shop.

Alex and his friends reached the card store after only about ten minutes of walking. Since the card shop and their school were both near the middle of the town, they weren't that far apart from each other. The card shop itself was fairly simple. It was a small; one story building that only consisted of the main room and the employee room. It was owned by an elderly gentleman who had a flair for card collecting. He had originally begun with sports cards, but now his shop was largely possessed by Duel Monsters.

Alex, Tom, Will and Amanda entered the shop and took a look around. Although they hadn't been around for a while, the place hadn't changed to their recollection. There was a display case containing various valuable single cards, as well as boxes upon boxes of card booster packs. There were also a few binders lying around that were labeled by monster type, indicating that they held less valuable cards pertaining to each particular archetype. They were there for people who knew what cards they needed, but didn't want to shift through booster packs to find them.

Alex spoke up as they entered the shop. "Since we're here to celebrate today, it'll be my treat." Alex couldn't really think of any way he wanted to change his own deck, but thought that someone should still benefit from Telham's generosity. "Just don't go overboard."

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Will and Tom together. Amanda was stunned as well, but she remained silent.

"Yeah; Telham gave me a generous little amount to tune my deck up with, but I don't want to change anything right now."

"That's awesome man, but are you sure you don't want to juice up your own deck first?" asked Tom.

"Yeah, you're the one going into the pro leagues after all," noted Will.

"What's this I hear about pro leagues?" came a craggy voice from the back of the shop.

Alex, Will, Tom and Amanda looked to the source of the voice and saw that the door behind the counter had opened. From it, the shop's owner had emerged. He was fairly tall for his age, but was hunched over a bit. He was currently dressed in green overalls over a grey short-sleeved shirt. He walked up to the group and gave them a warm smile.

"If it isn't my best customers," he greeted them cheerfully. "What brings you here today; and what was that mention of professional leagues about?"

Before Alex could respond, Will jumped in and began talking. "It's actually pretty big news, Gramps. You know about the tournament this past weekend right? Well; Alex won the whole thing, and then got approached by Jonathan Telham himself! He got a personal invitation to join Telham's professional dueling team."

"Wow," stammered the owner. "That is some pretty big news. I assume you're here to fix up your deck before you get started in the big leagues then."

"We're here as more of a customary celebration," replied Alex. He raised his left arm as he spoke, inadvertently bringing his Duel Disk to the owner's attention.

"What's that doohickey on your arm? It kinda looks like one of those whatchamacallits from the cartoon show."

Once again Alex was interrupted before he could speak, this time by Tom. "It's a Duel Disk, Gramps. Alex got it when he joined up with Telham's team. It actually creates holographic projections of the monsters while the game is being played."

"Are you pulling my leg?"

"Nope," cut in Amanda. "We've seen it in action. The monster actually looked pretty realistic."

"This I gotta see," remarked the owner, before slipping behind the counter. He rummaged through the display case and retrieved a card, before returning to where the group was standing. "Why don't you show me with this card; I imagine it would really be a sight to see."

Alex took the card as it was presented to him by the shop owner. It was a monster card called 'Honest'. It was a level four, light type fairy monster with eleven hundred attack points and nineteen hundred defense points. Alex imagined it would be a nice sight to see, based on the card's picture. It depicted an angelic figure wearing a brilliant white robe, with long, shimmering blonde hair. It had enormous, beautiful white wings at the tips of which the feathers were a deep crimson.

Alex didn't see the harm in showing off the monster for the shop owner, and walked outside. He flicked on his Duel Disk and held it up so the blade was level. He carefully placed 'Honest' onto the disk as he had done before with 'Ryko'. The Duel Disk flared to life, and 'Honest' materialized outside the shop. He hovered a short distance off the ground, and was indeed a brilliant sight. Alex let the monster linger for a few moments before removing the card and deactivating his Duel Disk.

The shop keeper whistled in amazement as Alex handed him back the card. "That sure was something. You've made my day today. Now, would it possible to ask another favour of you?"

"Sure Gramps," replied Alex. "What do you need?"

"Well; I know you have that fancy holo-thingy, but I was wondering if you wouldn't object to a tabletop game with this old timer. I have a new set of monsters I'd like to try out, and I figure you could use some practice as well."

"Sure Gramps, no problem."

As they walked back into the shop, the owner seemed positively giddy with excitement. He walked behind the counter and produced a deck of cards. He placed the deck on the counter as Alex walked up to the other side. Alex removed his deck from the Duel Disk and placed it on the counter opposite the owner's deck. They each drew five cards and waited for a moment.

"Since you challenged me, you can go first," stated Alex.

"Thanks," replied the owner, drawing his card. "I'll start by summoning 'Naturia Guardian', in attack mode."

The card the owner played depicted a large, gnarly tree whose branches ended in claw like hands. It was a level four, Earth type plant monster with sixteen hundred attack points, and it had a special effect. The owner also set a card face down in his spell and trap card zone before ending his turn.

"Interesting," remarked Alex as he drew his card, "but I think I can do better. I'll start with 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin' in attack mode."

"You've activated my monster's special effect," stated the owner. "When you summon a monster normally, my 'Naturia Guardian' gains three hundred attack points; which brings it up to nineteen hundred. Also, I can special summon 'Naturia Cosmos Beet' from my hand, in defense mode."

The owner's new monster was also an earth type plant monster, except that it was only a level two monster. It had one thousand attack points, and seven hundred defense points. The image on the card depicted a small, dark brown orb with short, single digit hands and feet attached. It also had roots wrapped around its body, with flowers growing on top of its head. Next to its type, Alex also saw the word 'tuner' written, although he wasn't sure what it meant.

"Now I'll have 'Jain' attack your 'Naturia Guardian'. Since he gains three hundred points while attacking, he's able to outdo your monster by two hundred. I'll also set a card face down and end my turn." Alex then discarded the two cards from his deck for 'Jain's' effect.

The owner smiled and moved his monster to the graveyard, and then drew his next card. "I thought I might be able to stay ahead of you, but I forgot about those potent abilities your monsters have. Still; I'll summon 'Naturia Wall' in attack mode."

The owner's new monster was also an earth type monster, but this type it was a rock instead of a plant. It was a level four monster with fifteen hundred attack points and one thousand defense points. The card's picture depicted a stone wall with hands and feet, and also a pair of eyes in the middle. The top of the wall was covered with moss, mushrooms and twigs.

"With that, my turn is done. This should prove interesting."

Alex drew his card and began his turn. "I'll summon 'Garoth; Lightsworn Warrior', in attack mode." Alex placed his new monster next to his 'Jain' card. "Now I'll have my 'Lightsworn Paladin' attack your 'Naturia Wall'."

"By destroying it in battle, you've activated its special effect," cooed the owner, picking up his deck. "Now I can summon any level four or lower 'Naturia' monster from my deck. I think I'll go with another 'Wall', in attack mode."

"Then I'll have Garoth attack it, which let's you summon another one."

"Nope; this time I'll summon 'Naturia Rock', in attack mode."

The owner looked through his deck and placed his new monster on the field once again. It was a level three, earth type rock monster with twelve hundred for both its attack and defense points. The card's picture depicted a monster similar to 'Naturia Wall', except that its body was much rounder. Alex wondered why the owner was playing such low level monsters, especially since his life points had now dropped to twenty-eight hundred and fifty.

"I don't trust those things," said Alex, turning over his face down card, "so I'll activate my 'Torrential Tribute' trap card. Now, since you summoned a monster, every monster card on the field is destroyed."

"Not so fast, I can counter with my 'Rock's' special ability. By discarding a card from the top of my deck, I can negate the effects of a trap card."

Alex smiled as he placed his trap in the graveyard. "I figured you were up to something. I'll end my turn now."

Alex sent two cards from the top of his graveyard for 'Jain's' effect. Then, due to 'Garoth's' effect, he had to discard two more cards. However, if either of them was a 'Lightsworn Monster', then he would get to draw an extra card. The first card discarded was a spell, but the second was 'Jenis; Lightsworn Mender'. Since he had discarded a monster, Alex drew one more card before the owner's turn began.

"Good, now I can show you what I was up to. Since my 'Cosmo Beet' is a 'tuner' monster, I can get things going big time."

"How so? I've never seen a 'tuner' monster before."

"It's simple really," said the owner, pulling out a white coloured card from his box. "By sending a tuner monster and other appropriate material monsters from the field to the graveyard, you can summon a powerful monster known as a 'Synchro' monster. The draw back is that the total levels of the tuner and material monsters have to be equal to the level of the desired 'Synchro' monster."

"You have level three and level two monsters; so you're going to summon a level five 'Synchro' monster?"

"Correct. Now I 'tune' my 'Cosmo Beet' to my 'Naturia Rock' in order to summon 'Naturia Beast', in attack mode."

The owner sent his other two monsters to the graveyard and placed the white card on the table. It was a level five, earth type beast monster with twenty-two hundred attack points and seventeen hundred defense points. Its image depicted a green furred tiger, although some of that fur was replaced with leaves. Although its feet and paws were normal, its legs all seemed to be coated with tree bark.

"Now I'll have 'Naturia Beast' attack your 'Lightsworn Paladin'. Since you have nothing to protect yourself with, your monster is destroyed and you lose four hundred life points. I don't have any other moves, so you can go."

Alex placed his Paladin in the graveyard and drew his next card. "Since I don't have anything to deal with that monster in my hand, I'll need some more cards. Therefore, I'll activate my 'Solar Recharge' spell by discarding my 'Wulf; Lightsworn Beast'."

"Not so fast lad, my 'Beast' has a special ability. By discarding two cards from my deck, I can negate the activation of a spell card. You can't get past me that easily."

Alex smiled at the owner, since he was always able to give Alex a good challenge. He was about to set a card onto the field, when a shiver once again ran down his spine. It was the same sensation he had felt when facing Michael's mind controlled brute; dark, but not as potent as Michael himself. The owner saw Alex look off, but Alex spoke before he could ask what was wrong.

"Sorry Gramps, but I gotta call off this duel, something came up."

Before the owner could raise an objection, Alex had gathered up his cards and placed his deck back in the Duel Disk. He walked out the front door of the shop, only to be met immediately by the source of the dark aura. Standing immediately across the street from Alex was another figure wearing a dark cloak. This one wasn't as massive as the brute, but the darkness surrounding him seemed a bit more intense.

This man also had his hood down, allowing Alex to see his face. He was a bit on the pasty side, but his face was full. He had short, green hair which was fairly long, hanging down to his shoulders. He had it tied back in a ponytail though, so it wasn't in his face. A devious smirk appeared on his face as he observed Alex, and his free hand rested on the Duel Disk on his left arm.

"Found you."

**Author's Notes: **Man, they didn't even get any card shopping done. Alex did learn a new trick from the old man though, even if he can't use it right now. Hopefully he won't need it to deal with this next servant of Michael's.


	10. Willingness

Chapter 9: Willingness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Alex and the cloaked young man stared at each other intently for a few moments from opposite sides of the street. Amanda, Will, Tom and the shop owner had gathered outside as well, standing a few feet behind Alex. They looked from Alex to the man across the street, and waited silently for something to happen. The cloaked figure walked across the empty street, stopping when he reached the other side and was only a few feet away from Alex. He chuckled to himself, seemingly amused.

"Who are you?" demanded Alex.

"I would have asked you first, but then I remembered I didn't care, Guardian of Light. As for me, if you must call me something; call me 'Ted'."

"Okay _Ted; _what do you want with me?"

"It should have come naturally, considering the title I called you by. However; it's not quite the same as last time. Since I'm not my master, I can't gain control by winning a duel. What I can do however; is defeat you in a duel, knock you out and swipe your precious Guardian Monster."

"What does that gain you? I'm the only one who can use it."

"For now, yes. However; my master is currently searching for a method to unlock the power he needs without you and wishes to have your Guardian Monster to test his workings on."

"I would love to see you try."

"That's the plan," replied Ted, his Duel Disk activating.

The others seemed intent on watching what was happening, but Alex was trying to wave them away.

"What's going on with this guy Alex?" asked Tom.

"Yeah, and why don't you want us watching?" added Will.

"This guy is from a… dangerous dueling gang." Alex had to make something up, regardless of whether or not is sounded convincing. "He's trying to beat me to undercut Telham's team and steal my rarest card. I want you guys to back off because these holographic duels can get pretty intense. If you feel you need to watch, at least get inside."

Amanda, Will and Tom begrudgingly listened to Alex's request and made their way back into the card shop. The shop's owner was about to go back in, but then made his way back to Alex. He pressed something into Alex's hand before running back into the store. Alex looked at what he had been given, and saw the 'Honest' card the old man had showed him earlier. He smiled and slipped the card into his deck, before turning to face Ted once more.

"Aw, did the geezer give you a hankie in case you start crying? Not that it matters, since I won't be showing any mercy anyways."

"Let's just get this over with, 'Ted'."

Alex drew his card first this time, after experiencing the lack of courtesy showed by his previous opponent. "I'll start things off with 'Garoth; Lightsworn Warrior.'" Alex's monster appeared on the field, pointing his halberd directly at Ted. "I'll also set two cards face down and end my turn."

"I was hoping for more of a fight, but oh well," scoffed Ted. "Now I'll summon 'Luster Dragon', in attack mode."

Ted's monster was a level four wind type dragon monster with no effect. It had nineteen hundred attack points and sixteen hundred defense points. The monster materialized as soon as Ted placed it on his Duel Disk. Its body was fairly sturdy looking, and appeared to be made entirely out of sapphire. Each of its arms boasted four claws while its legs each ended in a single, sharp point. Its wings were very thin, but seemed to be able to keep the dragon aloft. It roared at 'Garoth', who stepped back from it.

"Now my Dragon; attack his Warrior, it's bothering me."

Luster Dragon let out a roar and opened its mouth towards 'Garoth'. Instead of spewing flames, large chunks of sapphire crystal shot from the dragon's mouth. These chunks struck 'Garoth', causing him to shatter along with them. A fragment of the shattered crystals nicked Alex's cheek, causing him to wince a bit. His life point counter also dropped to thirty-nine fifty. From inside the shop, Alex could hear encouraging words being shouted by his friends.

"I'll end my turn with a couple of face downs, just like you."

Alex ignored his obnoxious opponent and drew his card. "I'll activate 'Solar Recharge'," he called, discarding the 'Jenis; Lightsworn Mender' in his hand.

Alex then drew two more cards and sent two more to the graveyard from his deck. His graveyard immediately spat one of the cards back out at him, holding it so he could retrieve it. Alex plucked the card, and saw that it was 'Wulf; Lightsworn Beast'. Apparently the Duel Disk recognized his monster's ability, and alerted him to it. Alex then summoned 'Wulf' to the field in attack mode. Ted's dragon seemed unfazed by Alex's new monster, but he didn't notice.

"I'll also summon my 'Jain; Lightsworn Paladin' in attack mode." 'Jain' materialized on the field next to 'Wulf', who looked to his fellow 'Lightsworn' and nodded. "Now 'Wulf; attack his 'Luster Dragon' with Noble Claw!"

'Wulf' let out a howl before leaping at Ted's dragon. As he approached the dragon, he brought his right arm forward, balled into a fist. The metal blades on his hand began to glow bright yellow just as they impacted the dragon's chest. It let out a howl and then shattered, disappearing form the field. A piece of the broken dragon struck Ted as his life points dropped to thirty-eight hundred.

"I'll activate my face down card; 'Bond of Dragons'. When one of my dragon type monsters is destroyed, it let's me summon another Dragon type monster of level four or lower from my deck. Now I called to the field 'Masked Dragon'!"

Ted's Duel Disk automatically ejected the desired card from his deck, which he then placed on the field. His new dragon had a fairly small body, but an incredibly long neck and head. Most of its body, including its wings and legs, were a pale cream colour, but its underbelly was bright red. The way the colours were patterned on its face made it look like it was wearing a mask. It had only fourteen hundred attack points though.

"Fine then, 'Jain', attack his 'Masked Dragon' with Shimmering Slash."

'Jain' nodded to Alex and then ran towards Ted's new dragon. His sword began to glow brightly as he drew it from its sheath, until it was bright white. He brought his sword down onto the dragon's neck, severing its head. There was no blood, the monster instead vanishing as soon as its head was removed. 'Jain' then walked back over to Alex's side of the field. When he got back and turned around, he saw 'Masked Dragon' still on the field.

"The special ability of 'Masked Dragon' allows me to summon a dragon type monster from my deck when he's destroyed, so long as it has fifteen hundred or fewer attack points."

"You may still have monsters out, but you're down to thirty-one hundred life points." Alex ended his turn and discard two cards from his deck for 'Jain's' effect.

"I may be behind in life points right now, but I'm still going to slaughter you. It starts with this," claimed Ted as he drew his card. "I offer my 'Masked Dragon' as tribute to summon 'Luster Dragon #2'." Ted sent his first dragon to the graveyard and placed the new one on the field.

When this new monster materialized, it towered over both 'Wulf' and 'Jain' and roared at them. Like the first 'Luster Dragon', this dragon's body seemed to be made entire out of crystal. However; the green hue of its skin indicated that it was emerald instead of sapphire. It had a much greater wingspan than its predecessor, and also seemed to have deposits of actual crystals growing out of its back. It boasted two thousand, four hundred attack points.

"Are you scared yet?" taunted Ted. "If not, then wait until after my dragon attacks! Now my beast; obliterate his Paladin!"

The emerald dragon roared and reared up, opening its mouth wide. Once again instead of flames, massive crystal shards flew from its mouth. The shards exploded on contact with 'Jain', crushing him under their force. Alex was once again struck by a broken jewel shard, although this one was larger than before. It struck his gut, but he tried to minimize his reaction in order to keep his friend from noticing. His life points dropped to thirty-three hundred and fifty, which left him still holding a slight lead.

"You seem to be having trouble dealing with the reality of this duel," taunted Ted. "I'd offer you the chance to surrender and save yourself the anguish, but I'm having too much fun pummeling you." He then ended his turn by setting one more card face down.

Alex shook his head and tried to ignore the pain in his abdomen as he drew his next card. He was pleased with what he saw in his hand. "Now I'll make a sacrifice as well. I offer my 'Lightsworn Beast' as tribute in order to summon 'Celestia; Lightsworn Angel."

'Wulf' nodded to Alex before disappearing, at which time Celestia materialized above the playing field. She descended down to where 'Wulf' had been standing and took his place. The jewel in her spear began to glow as Alex activated her effect by discarding four cards from his deck. The same stream of light as before shot from the jewel, branching into two sparks. The first struck Ted's dragon, causing it to immediately shatter. The second struck one of his face down cards, which was revealed to be the trap card 'Mirror Force'.

"What was that about me surrendering?" retorted Alex. "Now that you're wide open; 'Celestia' can attack your life point directly. Go; Celestial Spear!"

'Celestia' smiled at Alex before turning back to face her attack target. She lowered herself and shifted her spear forward, before gliding towards Ted. She seemed about to strike him in the gut where Alex had been hit, but at the last moment veered her spear upwards, striking him in the shoulder. Ted grunted and winced before clutching at his left should with his free hand. He glowered at 'Celestia' who was already back on Alex's side of the field. His life point counter now displayed a mere eight hundred points, causing him to grumble to himself.

"Before my battle ends, I activate the permanent trap card 'Glorious Illusion' to revive my 'Wulf'." A magical circle appeared on the ground, glowing with intense bright light.

"Not so fast," declared Ted. "I'll stop you with my face down card; Solemn Judgment." His face down card opened, revealing a depiction of a lordly man gesturing regally. "Now by paying half my life points I can negate the activation of your trap card."

Alex sighed, displeased that he wasn't able to end the duel this turn. Still, he took the opportunity to address his opponent. "I think I should offer you a chance to surrender, seeing as you only have four hundred life points left."

"Those points mean nothing," he spat as he drew his card. "Now I'm afraid I have to prove it. I'll start by summoning my third 'Masked Dragon', in attack mode. I'll follow up with the spell card 'Dragon's Mirror'."

When Ted activated his card, a large mirror appeared on the field. It currently reflected 'Masked Dragon' on its surface.

"What does that card do?" demanded Alex.

"It brings about my victory. Now by removing dragons in my graveyard and on the field from play, I can perform a fusion summon. Now behold my unstoppable beast: The 'Five Gods Dragon'!"

As Alex looked on, 'Masked Dragon' was pulled into the mirror. He also saw astral projections of two more 'Masked Dragons' appear, as well as those of the two 'Luster Dragons'. They too were sucked into the mirror, which then vanished. The mirror reappeared behind Ted, although this time it was much larger. Alex couldn't stop his hand from shaking as he waited for this new monster to emerge. The monster first appeared as a shadow inside the mirror, but the shadows were lifted as the beast clawed its way out of the mirror

Once the beast had fully emerged, the mirror disappeared completely. This massive dragon was immensely muscular, and had great arms ending in triads of claws. The most intimidating thing about this dragon was its heads. It had five of them, spread out across its broad shoulders. Only the middle head seem to match its body, while the rest were completely bizarre. One of the heads was made completely of flames, while the second resembled a sea serpent. Another head seemed to be made entirely of wispy shadows, while the last one was mechanical.

The earth shook as this massive beast stepped forwards a few paces, until it was nearly on top of Ted. All five of its heads bellowed with an indescribably horrible shriek. Alex had to cover his ears to drown out the noise, as did his friends inside the card shop. Even worse was the fact that this dragon had five thousand points for both its attack and defense stats.

Ted yelled out with maniacal laughter as he new beast snorted at Alex's monster. "Care to surrender now, Guardian of Light? Too bad, because my dragon is going to obliterate you first."

Alex glowered at the new monster, but was still unable to stop his hand from shaking. _Damn it! That thing is enormous. Not only that, but it might do some major damage. Even if it can't physically damage me, its attack might cause my nerves to overload, since they still react to the pain of the attack._

"Now my unstoppable dragon; attack his puny angel!"

The 'Five Gods Dragon' let out another terrible shriek and opened all five of its mouths wide. Each one then proceeded to unleash a stream of energy of a different type. The flaming head unleashed fire, the serpent head unleashed water, the middle head unleashed a tornado, the shadow head unleashed a stream of smog and the mechanical head unleashed a lightning blast. 'Celestia' flew forward, directly into the path of the attack and raised her spear in front of the oncoming blasts. Alex could tell that she was trying to protect him from as much of the damage as possible.

Eventually 'Celestia' dropped under the strain of the attack and was destroyed. Although she had stopped some of the blast, the rest of it still flew towards Alex. He raised his arms, placing his Duel Disk in front of his face in order to shield himself as much as possible. When the attack impacted, the force of it threw Alex off his feet, backwards into the card shop window. The windows had already been cracked by the shock from the attack, and the one Alex hit shattered as he connected with it. He landed face down inside the card shop, several feet farther back than his friends.

When they had seen Alex knocked off his feet, the people inside the card shop had instinctively dived out of the way. Now they were all standing up, brushing broken glass off their clothes and hurrying over to Alex's side to see if he was okay. Alex was still moving, although he was in rough shape. Even though the dragon's attack hadn't damaged his body, he had received many small cuts from the broken window. Outside, Ted's maniacal laughter could be heard again.

"Had enough yet, Guardian of Light?! If you're not back out here in one minute, I'll assume you're forfeiting or dead, and I'll take 'Judgment Dragon' for myself."

Alex attempted to push himself off the ground, but Tom tried to hold him down. "You can't go back out there," he said. "You just got thrown through a window."

"Yeah; what the hell just happened anyways?!" exclaimed Will.

Amanda bore a look of extreme shock on her face, and seemed unable to say anything.

"I have to get back out there," spat Alex, still trying to push himself up.

"Are you crazy?!"

"He still has life points left," stated the shop owner.

Everyone including Alex instinctively looked at the Duel Disk's life point counter, and saw that he did indeed have six hundred and fifty life points remaining. Alex managed to get onto his feet, although he very nearly fell down again as soon as he was up. He began walking back towards the shop door, but then turned back to the shop owner.

"Thanks Gramps."

"I don't know what just happened, but you can explain that later. Right now, you have to go back out there and win that duel."

Alex smiled at the owner as he walked back out onto the street. He stared determinedly at Ted, and a small smirk curled onto his lips.

"So; back for more punishment eh? Maybe I should have dueled against the old man instead. Since he owns a card shop, he might have had better cards to duel with."

Alex simply drew his card and smiled, as he saw 'Honest', the very card Gramps had given him, in his hand. Looked to the other cards in his hand, and saw that the only other monster he had to play was 'Lumina; Lightsworn Summoner'. Even so, with 'Honest' in his hand, she would be more than enough to finish him off. None of the other cards in his hand could be used right now, so he went straight into his play.

Ted chuckled darkly to himself. _There's no way he'll have anything strong enough to defeat my dragon. Then, if he tries to destroy it with a card effect, my trap card 'Destruction Jammer', will stop him dead. There's no way he can win._

"Now I'll summon 'Lumina; Lightsworn Summoner', in attack mode."

Lumina materialized on the field in a flash of light, settling down right in front of Alex. She had only one thousand attack points, causing Ted to snicker at her. She wore an ornate, form fitting sundress and her arms were adorned with bracelets, bangles and rings. Her hands glowed with magical energy, a magic circle accompanying the adornments on her wrists. Her short, golden hair was topped by a gold tiara, and her neck bore a scarf, the tassels of which hung down either of her shoulders.

"Now 'Lumina'; attack his 'Five Gods Dragon' with Rune of Light!"

Ted wailed out his laughter at Alex's declaration. "I think getting thrown through that window messed up your mind. Your monster won't even scratch my dragon!"

"Nope, she's going to destroy it. I discard 'Honest' from my hand. Now, when one of my Light monsters battles, it gains attack points equal to the strength of the opposing monster."

"What?!"

"In short, 'Lumina' is about to gain five thousand attack points."

After Alex discarded the card from his hand, 'Honest' appeared on the field, floating above 'Lumina'. 'Lumina' drew a symbol in the air, projected in a bright white light. She touched the symbol and it flew up towards 'Honest', stopping in front of him. 'Honest' held out his hands, enveloping the rune in further light. The rune then shot outward and expanded, its power projected by 'Honest'. The rune engraved itself on the dragon's chest, causing it to wail in pain. The rune gave a large flash, after which the massive dragon began to dissolve. Ted stood there with a horrified look on his face, not watching as his life point counter drop to zero.

Alex panted, the weight of his injuries now coming back in full force. Even so he smiled, pleased that he had managed to defeat Ted. He looked to the shop owner, who was practically glowing after seeing Alex use his card to win the duel. He was about to walk back inside when Ted began to ramble desperately.

"Please master, don't do this," he wailed. "I almost had him, just give me another chance."

Alex was about to run up to Ted when he saw him convulse violently. Ted then looked at him with a blank expression in his eyes. A small smirk appeared on his face.

"Greetings once again, Guardian of Light." Although Ted's mouth spoke, the voice that came from it belonged to Michael.

"Michael?! How are you speaking to me?"

"Through my servant. Since he was one of the ones who submitted to me willingly, as opposed to those who I had to conquer, your defeat of him offered no release from my control. I decided to take over his mind so that I could speak with you."

"What do you want?"

"Only to tell you that your attempts to resist me are futile and a waste of your effort. You would be much better off to join me, since my goals are far less foul than you give them credit for."

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen."

"Then I am afraid that things are only going to get worse for you. I shall still hope that you will come to your senses and join me."

After that, Michael's voice faded, and Ted's eyes turned back to normal, although he passed out shortly afterwards. Alex was close to joining him, when Will and Tom ran out from the card shop and propped him up on their shoulders. Amanda and Gramps also ran out of the card shop, crouching down next to Ted's unconscious form. Before anyone could say anything, the sound of police sirens caught their ears. They wordlessly decided that this was not the place to be at this time. Amanda and Gramps worked to move Ted while Alex was supported by Will and Tom, and they began working their way towards the park.

**Author's Notes: **Ouch, looks like things got real really fast. How will Alex explain things to his friends, and how will they respond? Keep reading to find out, and thanks for reading up until this point.


	11. Revelations

Chapter 10: Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

In the aftermath of Alex's duel with Ted, the group had moved back to their usual hangout in the park. It allowed them some privacy, and was in many senses better than returning to one of their homes. Had they done so, they obviously would have faced stern inquiries from parents or siblings. Gramps had left as soon as they had reached the clubhouse, in order to deal with the police. He was going to tell them he had been out running an errand when the incident had occurred. He also demanded of Alex that, in exchange for covering things up, he fills him in on what was going on as soon as he was able.

Alex and his friends rested Ted on the floor of the clubhouse and seated themselves around the table. All eyes were on Alex, waiting for an explanation of what had transpired. Alex remained silent, not sure on where to start, or what exactly he should tell them. He knew that he wouldn't be able to cover things up, not after they had seen him get tossed through a window. He eventually conceded that he wouldn't be able to get away with telling them anything other than the truth.

"So;" he began, "where would you like me to start?"

Alex's friends seemed a little taken aback by this question, as they were unsure what they wanted to know, or how it would be explained to them. They looked to each other and murmured for a moment. When they stopped talking amongst themselves, Tom was the one to speak up.

"The beginning is probably a good place to start. This all started when you met with Mr. Telham after the tournament, so why don't you tell us what really happened there."

"Alright then. As you know, Mr. Telham took me aside after the tournament to talk with me. You all assumed that he was inviting me to join a professional dueling team, so that was what I went along with to try and keep you out of the loop."

"Why would you want to keep us out of the loop?"

"Yeah; we're your friends after all."

"Mr. Telham actually invited me to join a secret society that he was currently the leader of. When he started talking about this stuff, I assumed he was either crazy or making stuff up. He told me about how Duel Monsters was based off of real monsters and magic that were used in ancient times."

"That sounds like it came right out of the TV show."

"I thought that as well; that he was pitching a plot for the TV series. However; then he summoned a real monster in front of me, using some kind of amulet. After that he gave me a 'trial', which consisted of me dueling him in order to see if I could control 'Judgment Dragon'."

"Back up a bit; what does the card he gave you have to do with any of this?"

"Right, sorry; I guess I got a little ahead of myself. He told me that the monster world was sealed away from our world, and that the seal was protected by six 'Elemental Guardians'. There were six Guardians in our world, and six Guardian Monsters in the other world that were paired with them. Telham was convinced that I was the Guardian of Light, and gave me 'Judgment Dragon' because it was the Light Guardian Monster."

"So; because you were able to control 'Judgment Dragon', it means that you're the Guardian of Light?"

"According to Mr. Telham that was proof enough for him. I've also been called the 'Guardian of Light' by the bad guys, so I'm starting to think it's true."

"So; who are the bad guys?"

"The Elemental Guardian of Darkness and his servants are the bad guys. Apparently the Dark Guardian wants to obtain the power of the Monster World, and use it to take control of both worlds. I've also been told that he has the other four Guardians under his control."

"Under any other circumstances, I'd think you were crazy," stated Amanda. "However; after seeing you get tossed through a window by a hologram, I'm about willing to believe anything."

"That reminds me," added Will. "What's the deal with the Duel Disk? I have a feeling it's not just holograms."

"You're right Will. This thing was actually built around a summoning amulet, which means that the monsters called forth by it are real. Apparently it was also the basis for the ones used in the show."

"So, that thing summons real monsters?"

"Yes; Telham gave it to me so that I could defend myself against the Dark Guardian and his servants. Apparently they had stolen all of the other Duel Disks, and without this one I would have been vulnerable to their real monsters."

"What about the time you used it in front of us and then passed out?"

"That wasn't an accident. After I activated it, the Dark Guardian sensed my powers and decided to pay me a little visit. He slowed down time around us, which is why it seemed like I just passed out. The reason I passed out was because of the attacks in the duel. It was my first time dueling with real monsters, so I wasn't able to withstand the attacks I took during the duel."

"If the attacks are real, then how come you're not dead, or at the very least bloodied up?"

"Telham told me the Duel Disks have limiters built into them. It prevents the attacks from doing any real physical damage during the duel. However; the nervous system still reacts, which is why it still causes pain and impacts."

"So; to get things in order. Telham is the leader of a secret society that knows about ancient monsters and magic battles. He wanted to recruit you because you're the Elemental Guardian of Light, and could fight against the Dark Guardian. The Dark Guardian wants to remove the seal between the worlds and conquer both of them."

"Wait; if he needs the other Guardians to do that, then he can't succeed right? He would still need you."

"Apparently the Dark Guardian has the power to control other people's minds. That was how he got the other four Guardians under his control. After beating me in the duel, he tried to take over my mind as well. Apparently I was saved by the fact that, as the Guardian of Light representing purity, my power canceled out his attempt to corrupt my mind."

"That's lucky."

"Yes, but unfortunately that wasn't the end of it. Since he controls the other four Guardians, the balance of power in the world is shifting, causing all kinds of problems; presumably in both worlds. The only way to stop it is to defeat the Dark Guardian and release the other Guardians from his control. According to Ted here, he's also trying to find a way to remove the seal without me. He was hoping to swipe my Guardian Monster in order to accomplish this."

"Good thing you managed to beat him then. If you had lost, then things would have gotten really ugly."

"Yeah; I'll have to remember to thank Gramps for that, since it was his card that won the duel for me."

"He'll probably let you keep it once you tell him what you've told us. He'd probably be pretty keen on helping to save the world."

"Still; why did you want to keep us in the dark about this stuff? It seems really important, and we are your best friends after all."

"It was Telham's suggestion. Since all this dangerous stuff would be going on, I didn't want you to get involved because you might get hurt."

"Pfft; hasn't TV taught you anything? The hero always has to have a group of friends backing him up and helping to save the world."

"Yeah, there's no way we'd let you do something this dangerous on your own."

"I appreciate it guys, but getting involved would leave you guys vulnerable to all the crazy stuff that's been going on."

"We never said we'd be getting involved," clarified Will. "We just want to make sure there's someone on your side supporting you."

"Well; thanks guys, it means a lot to have your support."

"You think it'd be any other way? If any of us were in your shoes, we know we could count on your support too. Besides, now that we know this stuff, the Duel Monsters card game seems a lot more interesting, eh?"

"That's another thing. If that society was supposed to keep this stuff a secret; why turn it into a card game and a TV show?"

"Apparently that was necessary cover, meant to distract people from the truth by hiding it in fiction. Also; some of the company's revenue is used to support the society, which I'm told was dwindling until Telham created the game."

"Well; now we're all up to speed, but there's one more thing to deal with."

"What's that?"

"This guy."

Will was pointing to the unconscious form of Ted as he spoke. Seemingly on cue, Ted started to twitch and shudder. The group watched as he slowly opened his eyes, and then sat up. He placed a hand to his head and groaned, apparently the victim of a massive headache. He immediately looked to his left arm, and saw that his Duel Disk had been removed. Amanda had taken it off and placed it in a corner of the clubhouse, in order to keep him from using it again once he woke up.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around at the four others.

"You're at our hangout," replied Alex. "We brought you here after the duel we had."

"How'd I get knocked out? Did I lose or something?!"

"Yes, Alex beat the tar out of you," cut in Tom. He was shushed by Amanda.

"Wait; I lost? Master Michael won't forgive me for this."

"We found that out already," stated Alex. "After you lost, he took control of your mind in order to speak with me. After he 'left', you fell unconscious. After that we brought you here to avoid the police, who were presumably coming to investigate the massive dragon you summoned."

Ted seemed to have stopped paying attention. "Damn it; my one chance at success is ruined. I'm never going to get anywhere now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wouldn't understand; no one ever did."

"You'd be surprised. Besides, you're not leaving until we get some answers from you."

Ted grumbled under his breath and glared at Alex. When his gestures got him nowhere, he sighed and hung his head. He got to his feet by propping himself up against the clubhouse wall. He grumbled some more and then observed his surroundings. He looked around the clubhouse, and then to the four friends around the table. He came to the conclusion that being outnumbered in a confined space and lacking his Duel Disk left him with no chance of escaping on his own.

"Fine then," he conceded, "what do you want to know? Keep in mind that I don't know much, since I'm just a regular grunt."

"Do you know where Michael is currently hiding?"

"No. He always came to me using that shadowy teleport thing he does. I never went with him anywhere nor was I shown the location of any hideouts. If I had to guess, I'd say the only ones he would ever keep around are the other four Elemental Guardians."

"Do you know anything about the other Guardians?"

"Just their names. He told me them so I would be able to answer to them if they ever came to me for whatever reason."

"So, what are they?"

"Ricky is Michael's right hand man, and is also the Guardian of Fire. There's also Steven, the Guardian of Wind and Carol, the Guardian of Water. Most recently we were joined by Florence, and she's the Guardian of Earth."

"Do you know anything about their Guardian Monsters?"

"No, I wasn't told about them. It was probably for good reason, based on my current situation."

"This guy isn't really giving us a lot of information," commented Tom.

"I'm starting to think he's not being entirely honest with us," added Will.

"Hey, everything I've told you guys so far is the truth!"

"I dunno," remarked Amanda. "Captive villains aren't usually this talkative."

"Frankly it doesn't really matter anymore. When I woke up I noticed that I no longer had my connection to Michael, meaning that he's probably deemed me useless. He always struck me as the type who wouldn't accept failure."

"If you knew he was like that, why did you join up with him in the first place?"

"What does that have to do with anything? I thought you were trying to get information about Michael's group, not about me personally."

"I'm just curious. I'm wondering what would make someone want to voluntarily give themselves up to a guy like Michael."

"I still don't see why I should tell you."

"Like I said, you're not leaving until we get the answers we want."

Ted grumbled and then let out another sigh. "Fine then, I guess I have no choice. My real name is Theodore Seselli. My parents died when I was only four, and I got left in a crappy little orphanage. I never got to go to a proper school, and I was never really good at anything. The only exception was the Duel Monsters card game. A couple of the other kids there played the game, and got me to join in. As it turned out, I was better at it than any of the others, and even won a few local tournaments."

"That doesn't sound like the worst possible scenario."

"Trust me, it wasn't that great. As much as it was fun, being good at Duel Monsters wasn't really going to get me anywhere. After all; the world doesn't revolve around card games. Since I wasn't good at anything else, my life was bound for a dead end."

"That's when Michael came along, right?"

"Correct. He saw my talent and figured I could be useful to him. Not only that, but I was more inclined to listen to him due to the fact that I wasn't going anywhere else in a hurry. At first I thought he was just some weird guy messing with me, but then we had a duel using the Duel Disks. After I realized he was for real, I became a lot more interested."

"So; you did it entirely for your own benefit?"

"Not exactly. Even though I would never be as important in Michael's group as the other Elemental Guardians, I thought that proving myself worthy might bring me a little more influence."

"What exactly would that accomplish?"

"I figured that, based on his powers, Michael wasn't bluffing about taking over the world. Due to that, I was hoping that any influence I gained could be used to make sure my friends back at the orphanage were kept safe."

"That sounds like a bit of an overblown sob story to me," stated Will fiercely. He stood up and walked towards Ted, but Alex held an arm out in front of him.

"He's telling the truth," stated Alex.

"How do you know that?"

"I dunno; I just have this gut feeling that he's not lying to us."

"None of it really matters now anyways though. Since I lost to you, Michael has cut me loose and my life will be back to the same dead end situation no matter what. Now, if you don't have any more questions more me I'd like to go home."

"Not so fast. I think you owe Gramps for damaging his shop."

"You mean the geezer who gave you that card before our duel? Why should I help him?"

"If you don't want to help him, then I guess you don't want your deck back either."

"Hey, that's not fair; you can't take my stuff like that!"

"Either you can help Gramps fix his shop, or you can use your deck as payment so he can sell it off to pay for the repairs."

"Grrr… fine. Old geezer would probably hurt himself if he tried to fix the place on his own anyways."

With that, Ted walked past the others and left the clubhouse. Alex stepped out the door and called out to him. "We'll give your deck to Gramps later so he can return it to you when you're finished."

"You better not lose any of my cards, dweeb!"

Alex sat back at the table and was faced with odd looks from his friends. "So; how come you let him off so easy Alex?" asked Tom.

"It just seemed like the kind of thing a TV show hero would do."

Alex's friends chuckled for a moment before returning to their discussion. "So, what happens now? I mean, sure you beat one of his henchmen, but this Michael guy is still out there, and so are the other Elemental Guardians."

"I'm really not sure. I know Mr. Telham was looking into the whereabouts of Michael and his followers, but thus far he hasn't told me anything. I think I'm just going to have to wait and see."

**Author's Notes: **Lots of talking in this chapter, but how else was I supposed to convey the information to Alex's friends, as well as perform an interrogation? If this chapter bored you, I apologize, but there's lots more card game action on the way, so stay tuned.


	12. Risks

Chapter 11: Risks

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

After Ted's interrogation, things seemed to go back to normal for the most part. Ted was now working at Gramps' shop in order to repay him for the damage done. Even though his deck had been returned, he had stuck around, seemingly pleased with the thought of working at a card shop. The evening news covered the incident, but since Gramps had said he was away at the time, it was chalked up to petty vandalism. Much to the group's relief, there had been no mention of Ted's dragon as part of the story.

Thursday had passed with no significant incident, but the group was still a bit wary. The events of the previous day hadn't occurred until they had left school, which meant there was still plenty of opportunity for something to go wrong. Classes had just finished for the day, and Alex and his friends were once again on their way to their lockers. Their walk was interrupted when Alex's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. Alex answered it, knowing who it was.

"Hello Mr. Telham," said Alex. He had known it was Telham because he was the only person aside from his friends to have his cell phone number.

"Greetings Alex, have I caught you at a bad time?"

"Nope, we were just finishing class, same time as yesterday."

"Ah, excellent. Anyways, I was calling to inform you that we had a major breakthrough in regards to Michael and his group."

"What sort of breakthrough?"

"We've narrowed down the location of his base of operations."

"How much have you narrowed it down by?"

"He was actually quite clever; hiding right beneath our noses."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We believe that he is operating from somewhere within the city. Jenga City is the headquarters of my company as well as those of our society."

"So, what makes you think he'd want to hide right where his enemies are?"

"The reason why our society established its headquarters here is because the gap between our world and that of the monsters is at its narrowest. It makes sense that Michael would work from here, since his ultimate goal is to bridge that gap."

"Even so, he still needs me in order to finish his plan, right?"

"That is true, but we still cannot allow him to continue his operations."

"What did you have in mind for stopping him then?"

"Well; if you have no objections, I would like to bring you out here to Jenga City."

"Wait; you mean right now?"

"Yes; the sooner you can come, the better. You need not worry about school or your parents, as I have already arranged excuses with both of them. I have sent a car to pick you up, and it should be arriving shortly."

"This is a little sudden. Also, are you sure plucking me away from home and school is a good idea."

"Frankly I think that saving the world is a little more important than a few days of middle school education. Also, time is of the essence, especially now that all six Elemental Guardians are active."

"I guess you're right. So, will he be arriving here at the school?"

"Yes. If you have need of anything from your home, make sure to inform the driver. Otherwise, I shall see you before the day is out."

With that, Telham hung up the phone on Alex, causing him to snap his phone shut and sigh. His friends were standing nearby, and tried to look as though they hadn't been listening in on him. He smiled at them and continued on towards the lockers. All of them stashed their things while Alex retrieved his Duel Disk. Alex began talking to them again as they exited the school, while slipping the device onto his arm.

"In case you guys weren't aware, that was Mr. Telham I was talking to."

"I kind of gathered that," noted Will. "What did he want this time?"

"Apparently they're close to finding Michael's base of operations. He wants to bring me out to Jenga City in order to put a stop to him."

"Wow," beamed Tom, "I've always wanted to go to the big city. You're pretty lucky. Any chance we could come along for the ride?"

"I'm afraid not. As much as I need you guys for support, I'd rather not put you in harms way. I'll be better off knowing you guys are back here giving me support than directly involved with potentially dangerous things I've yet to encounter."

"That's fine," cut in Amanda. "Just make sure you don't get hurt too bad, okay?"

"Sure thing."

At this time the group had reached the edge of the school grounds. A black car pulled up right next to them, causing them all to stop and stare at it. A man in a plain black suit stepped out of the car and walked around to the other side. He pulled open the passenger door and motioned for Alex to get in. Alex waved goodbye to his friends and approached the driver.

"Greetings Mr. Yuswell," said the suit. "Mr. Telham has asked me to bring you to Jenga City as soon as possible. If there is anything you need before we leave, please let me know. If not, then the drive to Jenga City shall take about three hours."

"If Telham is as rich as I think he is, how come he couldn't send a helicopter or private jet?"

"Mr. Telham wished to keep to a certain level of discretion regarding your presence, both here and back in the city."

"Alright then," said Alex, getting into the car.

Alex's friends waved him off as the car drove away. They decided to head back over to the card shop to check on Gramps and Ted. They also hoped to make up for the lack of shopping they had been able to do the previous day.

* * *

Amanda sat in class, finding that with Alex gone, life was a tad more boring. She had been half expecting some grotesque monster or raging lunatic to burst into the school. It was not so, and the day had passed almost completely without incident. The closest thing to a strange occurrence that day was Tom and Will skipping school. Amanda wasn't too concerned about this, as she had seen the two of them skip out before when they were feeling down.

After classes let out, Amanda proceeded towards their lockers as per usual. She pulled out her cell phone and attempted to get a hold of the boys. She was a little surprised that she received no response from either their home or cell phones. She shrugged if off and figured that they were in the clubhouse in the park playing card games. They tended to keep their phones shut off most of the time anyways. Amanda threw her stuff into her locker and retrieved her deck box. She clipped it onto her pants and then headed towards the park.

While she was walking towards the park, Amanda started to get these weird feelings. She felt as though someone was following her, but every time she turned around there was no one there. She chalked it up to her imagination, as well as a slight amount of paranoia stemming from the events of the past couple days. However; once she reached the park, a cruel, warped chuckling arose behind her.

Amanda flung herself around to see a deformed man behind her as the source of the chuckling. He was shorter than most, and had a hunch in his back. He was also bald, save for a few frazzled strands at the back of his head. He wore a white lab coat and, as Amanda had somehow suspected, he was wearing a Duel Disk on his left arm. He ceased his chuckling and gave Amanda a twisted smile, filled with crooked teeth.

"Greetings, friend of the Guardian of Light," he said, his voice as twisted as his appearance.

"Since you're calling me that, I assume you're working for Michael," retorted Amanda.

"You assume correctly lass. My name is Igor, and I am actually here to see you."

"Really? What for?"

"My master has asked for the presence of the friends of the Guardian of Light. He saw you when he first visited the Guardian of Light, and thinks you might be useful to him. Your other friends have already been seen to, so perhaps you would like to come along as well?"

"What have you done with Will and Tom?!"

"They refused to come along quietly, so I was forced to use some more… forceful persuasion. In light of that, I would hope you shall come along more quietly than they did."

"I think I'm going to have to refuse."

"Very well then."

Amanda watched as Igor plucked something from his pocket. It was a Duel Monsters spell card called 'Hinotama'. It depicted a fireball, and had the effect of damaging the opponent's life points. Igor placed the card into his Duel Disk, at which time a fireball materialized and fired towards Amanda. She barely had time to jump out of the way before it impacted, leaving a sizeable crater and several scorched trees.

Without looking back, Amanda began to run deeper into the park, trying to get away from Igor. As she ran, more fireballs impacted and exploded behind her. One of them came close enough that she could feel the heat on her back, and the impact of it flew her forward. Upon her landing, she noticed that she had ended up right in front of the clubhouse.

Amanda darted inside in an attempt to conceal herself. The sound of explosions outside ceased, but Amanda knew she didn't have long. She frantically searched for a method of escape, but the clubhouse only had one door and the windows were too small to climb through. It was then that she noticed it: Ted's Duel Disk. It had apparently been left there from the day before. Amanda smiled, seeing a chance to escape the situation, and practically threw the device onto her arm. She seized her deck from its case and slammed it into the Duel Disk.

Amanda darted out of the clubhouse to be met by Igor yet again. He was wearing the same disgusting smile as before, and was still holding up his Duel Disk. Amanda brought hers up and activated it, flashing him a grin. He seemed slightly surprised, but didn't show it much.

"I'd say this evens the odds," taunted Amanda. "Don't you agree?"

"Not really," replied Igor. "I wouldn't advise challenging me if I were you, especially since this is your first time using that device."

"I think I'll take the lesser of two evils, freak show."

"Interesting; this might be fun, so why not? You are a fair bit feistier than the other two."

"And you're a fair bit uglier than your predecessor."

Igor removed the spell card from his Duel Disk, and proceeded to replace it with a deck of his own. "I'll start things off," he called, drawing six cards from his deck.

"Whatever," retorted Amanda, drawing five cards.

"I'll start things off by summoning 'Doctor Cranium' in attack mode. After that, I'll set one face down card and end my turn."

Igor's set card materialized on the field, followed shortly by his monster. This one bore an odd resemblance to him. It was a short, bald man wearing a white lab coat. On top of its head was a wire frame, to which about a dozen light bulbs were connected. Amanda wondered why he would play such a weak monster in attack mode, as this one had only one hundred attack points. However; if he was playing weak cards, then it would give her a chance to take an advantage.

"My move," she called, drawing her card. "I'll begin with the permanent spell 'Card of Safe Return'. Now, every time a monster is summoned from the graveyard, I get to draw an extra card from my deck. I'll also summon 'Regenerating Mummy', in attack mode."

Amanda's spell card opened on the field, depicting a man in ragged clothes with three cards floating above him. After that her monster appeared, limbering forward as it materialized. The monsters name said it all, as the monster was little more than a bandage wrapped mummy. Bits of its cloth would fall off as it shifted on the spot, but they would heal over with a soft blue glow each time. This monster had one thousand, eight hundred attack points, dwarfing Igor's monster.

"Now, attack his… whatever that thing is!"

Amanda's mummy limbered forward and swung at 'Doctor Cranium' with both arms. It then proceeded to pummel the other monster until it disappeared from the field. At that time, Igor's face down card opened, revealing that is was a trap card. It depicted a strange looking machine covered in tubes and lights, and strewn with cables. Amanda was displeased to see that Igor's life point counter did not decrease, despite the seventeen hundred point difference in their monsters' attack points.

"I'm afraid my trap card 'Damage Condenser', was just what I needed," chided Igor. "By discarding one card from my hand, all the damage you would have done to me was reduced to zero. In addition, I can now summon a monster from my deck with fewer attack points than the damage I would have taken. I choose my good friend 'Krebons'."

Igor discarded the card from his hand, at which time his Duel Disk ejected a card from his deck. He plucked it from the device and placed it on the field, causing the monster to materialize. This new monster strongly resembled a medieval jester, except that the separate parts of its body were disconnected. They seemed to be held together by a strange green glow. This monster was still fairly weak, with one thousand, two hundred attack points.

"There's also the special effect of my 'Doctor Cranium'," added Igor. "By paying eight hundred life points, I can add any Psychic type monster from my deck to my hand. I think I'll go with my 'Mind Master'." Igor's deck ejected another card, which he added to his hand.

"Fine then, your move," called Amanda, seemingly unfazed by her opponent.

"As you wish. Now I'll play the monster I just added to my hand; 'Mind Protector', in defense mode."

Igor placed his new monster on the field right after drawing his card. This new one was also vaguely human shaped, but its body seemed more mechanical. Its torso and legs were comparatively small, while its head and hands were enormous. In the center of each palm was a large, hexagonal jewel, which seemed to radiate a strange pulse. This monster had no attack points, but twenty-two hundred defense points. When the pulses it emitted reached Amanda's zombie, it seemed to lose the ability to move, and fell to its knees.

"My 'Mind Protector' comes with an interesting ability. As long as he's on the field, monsters with less than two thousand attack points cannot attack. Unless of course they're of the Psychic type. I'll also set another card face down and end my turn."

"Alright then you psycho freak, it's my turn." Amanda smiled as she saw the card she drew. "Now I sacrifice my mummy in order to summon 'Il Blud'."

'Regenerating Mummy' dissolved the same way that all tributed monsters did, in order to make way for her new monster. This one resembled an obese humanoid wearing a prison uniform. The zipper on the uniform's front slid open, revealing a large, unblinking eye on its torso. The monster head was shaded, save for two glowing yellow eyes. This new monster had twenty-one hundred attack points, enough to bypass 'Mind Protector'.

"Now I'll have my new zombie attack that 'Krebons' thing."

The eye in the center of 'Il Blud's' torso opened wider and shot a beam of concentrated dark energy. The energy stream flew at 'Krebons', but just before it was about to connect, it hit a wall of glowing green energy. Igor's life points dropped by eight hundred down to twenty-four hundred. This was odd because the attack should have done nine hundred damage, even if his monster wasn't destroyed.

Igor snickered; "My Krebons has a special effect. If you attack it, I can pay eight hundred life points to negate the attack."

"Fine then, I set a card face down and end my turn."

"Very well; it seems I have to take things up a notch. Fortunately my 'Krebons' is a tuner, so I can do just that. Now I tune my level two 'Krebons' with my level three 'Mind Protector'. This allows me to call out the level five Synchro monster; 'Magical Android'."

Amanda watched as 'Krebons' dissolved into two spheres of light. Those spheres then began to circle around 'Mind Protector', gaining speed until they appeared as a single ring of light. The ring split into two, one half rising the other one descending. As the rings spread down the other monster, it was replaced by the image of another. When it finished forming, this monster was also humanoid in shape, although it was actually closer to the size of a normal person.

This monster however, was covered in mechanical armour that also seemed to have a magical glow about it. Adorning the armour were several glowing yellow spheres, from which the aura seemed to emanate. It carried a shield of similar design in one hand, as well as a weapon that looked like a cross between a staff and a sword. This new monster trumped 'Il Blud', having twenty-four hundred attack points.

"Oh and by the way," added Igor, "don't count on your 'Mirror Force' trap card saving you. I don't intend to let that foil me."

**Author's Note: **Dundundun, Amanda's in big trouble, especially since this Igor guy apparently knows what cards she's playing. I hope you guys were prepared for this, since its kind of a Yugioh tradition to have the villains go after the hero's friends. Will Amanda get out of this? Who knows.


	13. Connections

Chapter 12: Connections

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Amanda looked at Igor, dumbfounded. Somehow he had known what her face down card was, but she was not willing to believe that he had psychic powers. That aside, she was still at a disadvantage against this opponent. It was his turn and he had just summoned a monster stronger than the one she had out, and his declaration made her think he had some way of removing her trap card, even though she hoped against it..

"I think you just got a lucky guess," taunted Amanda. "Besides; even if you know what my card is, you can't get around it that easily."

"Oh, so you don't think my abilities are legitimate eh?" came Igor's reply. "Perhaps this will convince you: in your hand you are currently holding 'Plaguespreader Zombie', 'Mezuki', and 'Zombie Master'."

Amanda grimaced; he had been right about all three cards. "That still doesn't mean you'll win."

"Perhaps not, but it does give me a distinct advantage. Now I shall show you why. I summon 'Destructotron', in attack mode."

Since Igor had only performed a Synchro-Summon this turn, he was still able to summon a monster normally. This new monster was mechanical in nature, with four thin legs supporting him. Its chest was a mess of wires and tubes, the center of which had an eerie glow. Its head resembled a television set with a deformed head inside it. Its arms were also a mess of wires, and ended in four-fingered hands. This new monster was weaker than the first, with sixteen hundred attack points.

"Now by paying one thousand life points, my 'Destructotron' can destroy one face down spell or trap card on your side of the field."  
Igor's life point counter dropped to fourteen hundred, and 'Destructotron' stepped forward. It raised a mechanical hand, which shot out a spark of lightning. The bolt struck Amanda's face down card, shattering its projection. The Duel Disk ejected the card from its slot and the light on that slot turned red. When Amanda removed the card, the light went back to normal, indicating that the slot could now be used again.

"Now I'll have my monster attack you! First; 'Magical Android' will take out your monster, and then 'Destructotron' will attack you directly."

Igor's 'Magical Android swung its weapon in the air without getting any closer to Amanda's monster. Instead, the weapon generated a shockwave, which tore through 'Il Blud', causing him to be destroyed. The remnants of the wave nearly knocked her off her feet as her life points dropped to thirty-seven hundred. Immediately afterwards, 'Destructotron' struck her directly with an energy bolt, causing her to wince painfully and let out a grunt. She was shuddering a little in the aftermath, and her life points dropped to twenty-one hundred.

"Ergh," grunted Amanda, "no wonder Alex didn't want us getting involved. This stuff hurts."

"Like it or not, you're involved," replied Igor. "Master Michael saw you the day he first sought out the Guardian of Light. Since your friend decided to be uncooperative, Master thought it might be best to acquire something with which to coerce him."

"Which is why you came after me, Tom and Will, right?"

"That is correct, but you so much more so now. Although I had to send the other two back to him, you will suffer a different fate."

"How so?"

"Simple; you will become the Dark Guardian's servant right here once I defeat you."

"Care to run that by me again?"

"Master Michael is capable of taking over the minds of others. Due to my psychic talents, he is capable of channeling that ability through me. However; he must first make a conquest of the person to be controlled. Once I defeat you in this duel, you shall be sufficiently conquered, and the Dark Guardian will take control of your mind."

"What exactly does controlling my mind get you with Alex?"

"That should be fairly obvious, even to those without psychic talents. With his friends at the mercy of his opponent, the Guardian of Light will have to surrender. This will allow the Guardian of Darkness to obtain the power he needs to complete his mission."

"Like hell I'm gonna let you make me a part of that!"

"I'm afraid the only way you might stop that is by winning this duel. Believe me; that is not going to happen, so you might as well save yourself the hardship and surrender now."

"That ain't gonna happen, ugly."

"So be it; it is your turn now. But before that, my monster has a special effect. I gain six hundred life points for each psychic monster on the field." Igor's life points rose by twelve hundred for a total of twenty-six hundred.

"Fine then, let's get this going!" Amanda drew her card, but Igor chuckled at her.

"Your 'Pyramid Turtle' is too weak to stop my monsters. Still; it might be able to forestall the inevitable, since that seems to be your goal."

Amanda grunted at Igor but didn't lash out at him. It was true that her 'Pyramid Turtle' monster was fairly weak by itself, with only twelve hundred attack points and fourteen hundred defense points. However; once it was destroyed, she would be allowed to summon another zombie monster from her deck, so long as it had two thousand or fewer defense points. She had one zombie in mind that might be able to hold off against Igor while she put together a plan to beat him. She set the 'Pyramid Turtle' face down in defense position, and ended her turn.

"It is now my move," called Igor, drawing a card. "My 'Magical Android' will attack your defending monster, since I already know what it is."

'Magical Android' swung its weapon again, aiming for the image of Amanda's face down monster. The monster was revealed, and its form was that of a rather large turtle. However; in place of a shell on its back it carried an entire pyramid, although it was presumably smaller than the actual ones in Egypt. The monster was destroyed, but this only cause Amanda to smile.

"Now the special effect of my monster activates!" she called. "Now I can summon another monster from my deck, and I choose 'Ryu Kokki'!"

Amanda's Duel Disk immediately ejected a card from her deck, which she saw to by the one she had designated. She smiled at this feature and placed the card on the field. Her new monster materialized quickly, and dwarfed the other monsters on the field. It was a massive, skeletal, humanoid form. However, instead of regular bones, its entire body was made up of smaller skulls. The only exceptions were its claw like hands and a red jewel in its chest. Her new monster had two thousand defense points, but also carried two thousand, four hundred attack points.

"Since my 'Destructotron' can't fight your new monster, I'll switch him to defense position. I'll then set another card face down and end my turn."

Amanda smiled as she drew her card, thinking she now had a chance to take control of the duel. "Now I'll have my 'Ryu Kokki' attack your 'Destructotron'!"

"Before your attack connects," cut in Igor, "I'll activate my trap card. 'Psychic Rejuvenation' gives me an extra one thousand life points for each 'psychic' monster on the field. Since I have two of them, that's two thousand points."

Igor's life points increased to a total of forty-six hundred as 'Ryu Kokki' attacked. It picked 'Destructotron' up with one of its massive, claw like hands and proceeded to squeeze it violently. Igor's monster was crushed into nothing, but since it had been in defense mode, he lost no further life points. Amanda set another card face down and ended her turn.

"I think things are evening out a bit, don't you?" called Amanda.

"No, not really. I activate my other trap card; 'Psychic Tuning'. This card lets me bring back any psychic monster form the graveyard, and treats it as a tuner. The only draw back is that I take damage equal to four hundred times its level."

A series of cables shot out of the projection of Igor's trap card, and embedded themselves in his graveyard. When they were retracted, they had pulled out his 'Mind Protector', which was placed on the field next to 'Magical Android'. Since it was a three star monster, Igor lost twelve hundred life points, leaving him with thirty-four hundred. Since his new monster was treated as a tuner, he now had the capability of summoning an eight star Synchro monster.

"Now I'm afraid this is the end for you. I tune my 'Mind Protector' with my 'Magical Android', in order to call upon my strongest beast. Behold; the 'Thought Ruler Archfiend'!"

Igor's 'Mind Protector' dissolved into three spheres of light, which again began to circle around his other monster. Instead of two rings like before, three formed when the central one split. One stayed put while the others ran up and down the 'Magical Android'. When the rings dissolved, they left an odd green mass in their wake. However; from this mass emerged bronze and silver coloured skeletal structures, shaping the mass into a body. The body was massive, with the bones outlining wings, a skull like head, and massive claws at the end of its arms. This new monster had twenty-seven hundred attack points, enough to crush Amanda's monster.

"I'm afraid that this creature marks the end of our duel. I'm a bit disappointed actually, since I thought your spunk would make you more of a challenge. Now my great beast, attack her monster!"

The 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' let out a sickening cackle as it approached Amanda's monster. It held out its claw like hands, off of which shot a massive pulse of lightning. The wave of energy struck 'Ryu Kokki', shattering it to bits. Amanda's life points dropped by three hundred points to a total of eighteen hundred. She still had a smile on her face and pressed the Duel Disk's button to activate her face down card. A pair of demonic hands shot out of it, reaching for Igor's monster.

"Good play Igor, but I got the drop on you this time. My 'Michizure' trap card lets me destroy one of your monsters if one of mine is sent to the graveyard!"

Igor snickered as the hands stopped just short of his monster. "I'm afraid you are incorrect. When you activate a card that targets one of my psychic monsters, my 'Thought Ruler' can negate it for the cost of one thousand life points. There's more bad news for you as well. When my 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' destroys a monster in battle, my life points increase by its attack points."

Igor's life points dropped to twenty-four hundred, but then increased by another twenty-four hundred, literally doubling them. His life points stood at forty-eight hundred, three thousand more than what Amanda had. Not only that, but she had failed to destroy his monster. One more turn and Amanda would be finished, but she wasn't about to let that happen. She drew her card and saw that it was 'Card Destruction'.

"I'm afraid drawing a new hand won't help you," called Igor. "I'll simply read your thoughts again to learn what the new cards you drew are."

Amanda growled to herself, knowing he was right. He has seen every card she had played to stop him so far, so there was no longer any doubt that he would see the new ones as soon as she did. With that thought, an idea occurred to Amanda. If this idea could actually work, then she might be able to turn the tables on Igor after all. She had nothing else to go for, so she decided to chance it on this move.

"I activate 'Card Destruction'," she called, activating her spell card. "Now we each discard our hands and draw the same number of cards." Amanda didn't watch Igor as he threw out his hand and drew a new one, focusing on how she was going to pull her cards.

"Come on now," chastised Igor, "hurry up and draw your cards."

A smile appeared on Amanda's lips. "I already did."

"What!? How can I not see them then?"

"That's because I haven't seen them either."

Igor looked curiously at Amanda, before noticing that she had indeed drawn her three new cards. However, she was currently holding them away from her body with the backs facing towards her. She had not looked at the cards after drawing them, and therefore did not know what they were. Due to this, Igor was not able to tell what they were either. He gritted his teeth and glared at her.

"Even if I don't know what your cards are, how do you plan on playing with them when you don't know what they are either?"

"Like this," called Amanda, plucking one of the cards from her hand. Her instincts told her to place it in a spell card slot, and she did. When she looked at the card on the field, her smile widened. "My 'Lightning Vortex' spell card is just what I needed. By discarding one card from my hand, all of your face up monsters are destroyed. Since it doesn't target any single monster, your 'Thought Ruler' can't negate it."

Igor scowled fiercely at Amanda as she discarded another card from her hand, leaving her with one. Bolts of lightning shot out of her spell card and struck his monster. It howled painfully before exploding in a flash of light. Igor's life points remained unchanged of course, but he was still dreadfully angry.

"Even if my monster is destroyed, that doesn't mean you've won. I still have three thousand life points more than you."

"I'm working on that," called Amanda. "Now, my removing from play the 'Mezuki' in my graveyard, I can revive any other zombie in the graveyard. I choose my 'Zombie Master'."

Amanda's graveyard ejected two cards for her. The first was her 'Mezuki', which she placed away in her deck box. The other one was her 'Zombie Master', which she then placed on the field in attack mode. This monster looked more like a sorcerer than a zombie, but the decaying flesh on its claw like fingers indicated its undead status. It wore a sweeping, tattered cape over its shoulders and a mask on its face. It had eighteen hundred attack points on its own, but Amanda was far from done.

"Since I revived a monster from the graveyard, I'm allowed to draw an extra card, thanks to 'Card of Safe return'. Then, by placing that card back on top of my deck, my 'Plaguespreader Zombie' revives itself. Since another monster was revived, I can draw that card back again."

Amanda drew her card, place it back on top of her deck, and then drew it again as her other monster revived. 'Plaguespreader Zombie' indeed looked like the cause of a disease. Its body was made up of nothing but rotting flesh and seemingly puss filled boils. It also had a tail, and a torn garment draped over its torso. It only had four hundred attack points, but it was a level two tuner. Together with her level four 'Zombie Master', it would give her the tools she needed to win.

"Now I'll activate this card," said Amanda, the extra slot on the end of her Duel Disk popping open. "The field spell card 'Zombie World'."

As Amanda played her field card, the ground around them turned dark and seemingly infertile. The trees around also died off and dropped off their leaves, leaving the surroundings of the two duelists rather desolate. Igor wondered why Amanda had played that card, since it didn't power up any of her monsters. Instead, it caused all monsters on the field and in the graveyard to be treated as zombies.

"Care to explain how you plan to win with this move?"

"I'd be happy to show you. I'll start by tuning my level two 'Plaguespreader Zombie' to my level four 'Zombie Master'. This lets me call out my 'Deathkaiser Dragon'!"

Instead of a display of light like Igor's monster had done, Amanda's tuner and material seemed to melt together into a single mass of flesh. This mass of flesh then expanded and took form, creating a horrifying new creature. The flesh had formed into a dragon with a long neck and a wide, gaping mouth. The flesh had been tinted a dark grey and had also been covered by an exterior skeletal frame. The dragon also had massive, slightly tattered wings, as well as a long, sweeping tail. Instead of arms or legs, this dragon simply had twin trails of spikes running down its underside.

"When it's summoned, 'Deathkaiser Dragon lets me summon a zombie type monster form your graveyard!"

"But that's… oh no!"

"Yup, I choose to revive your 'Thought Ruler Archfiend', since 'Zombie World' causes him to be treated as a zombie as well."

The ground next to Amanda's dragon opened up, and the form of Igor's 'Thought Ruler' clawed its way out of the fissure. This time though, the green mass had faded to a pale yellow, and its skeletal structure was tarnished and cracked. These were indications that the monster was currently among the undead, despite not originally being so. Despite this, it still carried all twenty-seven hundred of its attack points. 'Deathkaiser Dragon' had twenty-four hundred attack points, for a total between the two of them of five thousand, one hundred.

"Now both of my monsters will attack you directly!"

'Deathkaiser Dragon' extended its neck and clamped onto Igor's shoulder with its gaping maw. At the same time, the zombified 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' swiped at him with a claw, causing him to shriek painfully. Igor would have been sent flying if Amanda's dragon hadn't held him in place. Even so, his life points dropped to zero, and all traces of the duel disappeared, including the revitalization of the park surrounding the two of them. Igor fell to his knees and clutched at his head. Amanda recognized it as the same thing that had happened to Ted when Alex had beaten him.

"Greetings girl," came the voice from Igor that Amanda now knew to be Michael's. "I must say your dueling skill is quite impressive."

"What have you done with my friends!" she demanded.

"They are here in my company, and I would request that you come and join us yourself. I could use someone with your talents, since no one has ever before defeated Igor. Usually they become afraid of his psychic powers and surrender, but you did neither."

"Keep dreaming psycho, I'm going to let Alex know what you've done, and then you'll be sorry."

"You won't join me? Perhaps I shall offer you a deal then. If you come and join me willingly, I shall release your other two friends immediately."

**Author's Notes: **Yay, Amanda has dueling talent. Unfortunately, the other two didn't have the chance to fight back that she did, and are deep in Michael's clutches. Will Amanda give herself up to save the other two? Find out next time. Thanks for reading.


End file.
